Interim maintenance orders are final and enforceable, reflecting the husband's obligation to support his wife and children, irrespective of the wife's prior earnings.

JUDGMENT :

1. The present Revision Application challenges the order dated 3.11.2023 passed below Exh.3 by the learned Principal Judge, Family Court, Ahmedabad in Criminal Misc. Application no.2400 of 2019, whereby the learned Family Court had directed the revisionist to pay the interim monthly maintenance of Rs.75,000/- to opponent no.1, Rs.50,000/- per month each to opponents no.2 and 3, totaling to Rs.1,75,000/- per month and had directed that the arrears of maintenance be paid within one month from the date of the order.

2. The applicant is the husband of opponent no.1 and father of opponents no.2 and 3. Marriage between the applicant and the opponent no.1 took place at Mumbai on 25.12.2010.

3. To support the maintainability of the Revision Application, learned advocate Ms. Megha Jani has referred to the provision of Section 19 of the Family Courts Act, 1984 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”) and placed reliance on the judgment of this Court in the case of Manojkumar Harilal Joshi v. Truptiben Manojkumar Joshi, 2004 (1) GLH 676 to contend that since the maintenance order substantially affects the rights and liabilities of the parties, it would not be termed as ‘interlocutory order’. To explain the said submission, reliance is placed on the judgment in the case of Madhu Limaye v. The State of Maharashtra, (1977) 4 SCC 551 and the decision in the case of Amar Nath & Ors. v. State of Haryana & Anr., (1977) 4 SCC 137.

4. In context with the provision of Section 19 of the Act, reliance was placed on the judgment of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh in the case of Rajendra Kumar Sitaram Pande & Ors. v. Uttam & Anr., (1999) 3 SCC 134 to demonstrate the maintainability of the revision contending that Section 19(4) of the Act permits filing of Criminal Revision Application against the order of interim maintenance by the Family Court.

5. Section 19 of the Act is reproduced hereunder:-

“19. Appeal.—(1) Save as provided in sub-section (2) and notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908) or in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974) or in any other law, an appeal shall lie from every judgment or order, not being an interlocutory order, of a Family Court to the High Court both on facts and on law.

(2) No appeal shall lie from a decree or order passed by the Family Court with the consent of the parties [or from an order passed under Chapter IX of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974):

Provided that nothing in this sub- section shall apply to any appeal pending before a High Court or any order passed under Chapter IX of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974) before the commencement of the Family Courts (Amendment) Act, 1991 (59 of 1991).]

(3) Every appeal under this section shall be preferred within a period of thirty days from the date of the judgment or order of a Family Court.

[(4) The High Court may, of its own motion or otherwise, call for and examine the record of any proceeding in which the Family Court situate within its jurisdiction passed an order under Chapter IX of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974) for the purpose of satisfying itself as to the correctness, legality or propriety of the order, not being an interlocutory order, and as to the regularity of such proceeding.]

[(5)] Except as aforesaid, no appeal or revision shall lie to any court from any judgment, order or decree of a Family Court.

(6) An appeal preferred under sub- section (1) shall be heard by a Bench consisting of two or more Judges.”

6. It requires to be noted that the said section in Chapter V under the heading “appeals and revisions” had been amended with effect from 28.12.1991, where earlier the heading was “appeals”.

7. Learned advocate Ms. Jani referred to the cause which led to amendment of sub-section (4) in Section 19. Sub-section (4) was inserted with effect from 28.12.1993. The reference is reproduced hereunder:-

“The Bill seeks to achieve the above objects.

Statement of objects a