Point of Law: An unmarried Hindu daughter can claim maintenance from her father till she is married resorting to S.20(3) of Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956.

ORDER :

This Revision Petition has been filed under Section 397 and 401 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (hereinafter referred to as `Cr.P.C' for short) and the revision petitioner is the respondent in M.C.No.252/2016 on the files of the Family Court, Thiruvananthapuram. The respondents herein are the original petitioners in the above M.C.

2. Heard the learned counsel for the revision petitioner as well as the learned counsel appearing for the respondents.

3. The questions emanate in this revision petitioner are:

(i) Whether an unmarried daughter can claim allowance of maintenance under Section 125(1) of Cr.P.C even after attaining majority? If so, on what contingency?

(ii) Is there any other enabling provision of law for a Hindu unmarried daughter to claim maintenance dehors the provision under Section 125 of Cr.P.C?

4. The 1st respondent herein is the wife of the revision petitioner and the 2nd respondent is the daughter of the revision petitioner, aged 17 years during 2016. The respondents had approached the Family Court with prayer to grant allowance of maintenance on the submission that they did not have means of maintenance. Further, it was contended that the revision petitioner, who had been conducting “He `N' She Dress Makers”, had been earning Rs.40,000/-per day and, therefore, he could pay maintenance to the tune of Rs.50,000/-to the 1st respondent and Rs.25,000/- to the 2nd respondent.

5. The revision petitioner filed objection and resisted the contention. According to him, he had been working in a tailoring shop on a daily wage basis and had been getting Rs.500/-as daily wage. He had denied the business and also denied the illicit relationship alleged against him.

6. The Family Court ventured the matter. The 1st respondent examined as PW1 and the revision petitioner got examined as CPW1. Exts.B1 to B3 were marked on the side of the revision petitioner.

7. The Family Court, on the basis of the evidence, granted Rs.10,000/-and Rs.8,000/-as maintenance to the 1st and 2nd respondents respectively per month from the date of filing of the petition (1.7.2016).

8. The learned counsel for the revision petitioner zealously argued that the Family Court failed to consider the income of the revision petitioner. Admittedly the revision petitioner was getting Rs.500/-per day while working in the tailoring shop as a manager, and, therefore, the maintenance granted to the respondents is on higher side and the same requires interference. It is pointed out further that the 2nd respondent herein was aged 17 years during 2016 and during 2017, she became major. Therefore, she could not claim maintenance under Section 125 of Cr.P.C. He also pointed out that in order to sustain claim of maintenance at the instance of an unmarried daughter, belongs to Hindu community, she should file a petition under Section 20 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956, and in a petition filed under Section 125 of Cr.P.C an unmarried daughter, who attained majority, could not claim maintenance after attaining majority. In this connection, the learned counsel for the revision petitioner placed a decision of the Apex Court reported in [2020 (5) KHC 235 : AIR 2020 SC 4355 : 2020 (6) KLT 341 : 2020 KLJ 814], Abhilasha v. Parkash & Ors. In the said decision the Apex Court considered the questions and held as under:

“The moot question that arose for consideration in this appeal was whether a daughter, who although had attained majority and is still unmarried, is entitled to claim maintenance from her father in proceedings under S.125 CrPC although she is not suffering from any physical or mental abnormality/injury? What are the rights of an unmarried daughter under Section 20 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956?”

9. While answering the said queries, the Apex Court held as under:

“The right of unmarried daughter under S.20 to claim maintenance from her father when she is unable to maintain herself is absolute and the right given to unmarried daughter un