The court emphasized the importance of effective implementation of maintenance grants and considered the financial positions of both parties in determining the maintenance amount.

JUDGMENT/ORDER :

Pushpendra Singh Bhati, J.

1. Though the matter (revision petition No. 192/2020) was listed before this Court in regard to service of respondent No. 2- wife, but the learned counsel for the petitioner-husband insisted that the matter may be heard finally at this stage, without service upon the respondent No. 2.

2. Ordinarily, the Court could not have accepted such a request, but on a perusal of the record as well as upon hearing the preliminary submissions of the learned counsel for the petitioner, the requirement of service upon respondent No. 2 was not felt necessary, as on merits, the matter was tilting in favour of the respondent No. 2-wife.

3. As regards Misc. Petition No. 3559/2021, the previous order-sheets shows that Mr. D.K. Gaur, learned counsel appeared on behalf of the respondent No. 2-wife. However, today on 23.05.2022, when the matter was listed, no one has appeared on behalf of respondent No. -2 wife, even in the second round.

4. The present criminal revision petition No. 192/2020 (initially filed as criminal misc. petition) and criminal misc. petition No. 3559/2021 have been preferred claiming the following reliefs:

Revision Pet. No. 192/2020:

It is, therefore, respectfully prayed that Your Lordships may graciously be pleased to accept and allow this Criminal Misc. Petition under Section 482 Cr.P.C. and the order impugned dated 11.12.2019 passed by learned Judge, Family Court No. 2, Bikaner in Criminal Misc. Case No. 259/2017 granting maintenance to the respondent No. 2 to the tune of Rs. 15,000/- per month may kindly be quashed and set aside"

Criminal Misc. Petition No. 3559/2021:

It is, therefore, most humbly and respectfully prayed that this Misc. petition may kindly be allowed and the proceedings pending before the Family Court No. 2, Bikaner in Criminal Case No. 10/2020 (Mamta v. Ramchandra) including order dated 24.02.2021 may kindly be quashed and set aside and in alternative the learned court below may kindly be directed not to arrest the petitioner till the petitioner's application under Section 127 Cr.P.C. is decided."

5. As the record of the case would reveal, the matter pertains to a matrimonial dispute, wherein the respondent No. 2-wife on count of the alleged ill-treatment and harassment at the hands of her husband (present petitioner) and her in-laws, in connection with the alleged demand of dowry, is living separately, and thus, by filing an application under Section 125 Cr.P.C. before the learned court below, she had sought an appropriate and adequate amount of monthly maintenance; the same has been awarded by the learned court below vide the impugned order dated 11.12.2019; against such determination of the monthly maintenance amount and the consequential order passed by the learned court below, owing to the default on the part of the petitioner-husband in payment of arrears of the maintenance amount, the petitioner-husband has approached this Hon'ble Court by filing the present petitions.

6. Learned counsel for the petitioner-husband submitted that even earlier an ex-parte order dated 27.04.2019 was passed in favour of the respondent No. 2-wife by the learned court below, on her application under Section 125 Cr.P.C., while granting her a monthly maintenance to the tune of Rs. 6,000/-; against which the present petitioner-husband preferred a criminal misc. petition bearing No. 3876/2019, whereupon this Hon'ble Court, while quashing and setting aside the said ex-parte order of maintenance, remanded the matter back to the learned court below, for deciding the same afresh.

6.1. Learned counsel further submitted that after remand of the matter, in a short span of time, the learned court below heard the matter finally and vide the impugned order dated 11.12.2019, the learned court below increased the amount of monthly maintenance to be payable by the petitioner-husband to the respondent No. 2-wife, from Rs. 6,000/- to Rs. 15,000/-, which is on a much higher side, and thus, unreasonable, looki