The first petitioner before this Court is the wife and petitioners 2 and 3 are her minor children, aged 2 years, and 7 months respectively when the petition was filed. Respondent is her husband. The petitioners filed an application under section 488 of the Code of Criminal Procedure claiming maintenance from the respondent.

At the trial, after recording the evidence of 6 witnesses on behalf of the petitioners and of 7 witnesses on behalf of the respondent, the learned Magistrate held that the petitioners had failed to establish refusal or neglect by the respondent to maintain them. He also held that the evidence let in on behalf of the respondent indicated that there was some basis to say that the first petitioner had crossed the bounds of decency in behaving with one Gopalaswamy although it may fall short of proof of adultery or unchastity on her part. He rejected the application for maintenance filed by the petitioners. In this revision, the petitioners challenge the said order passed by the learned Magistrate.

Sri Satyanarayana, learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner, contends that the respondent has made serious allegations of unchastity against the 1st petit