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1949 Supreme(Mad) 423
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
Mr. Justice Panchapakesa Ayyar.
Kamala Gangalamma
Versus
Venkatarami Reddi
Cr.R.C.No. 1355 of 1948. (Cr.R.P. No. 1282 of 1948).
Decided On : 01 December 1949
T. Ramaprasada Rao for Petitioner.
S.V. Venugopalachari for Respondent.
Assistant Public Prosecutor for Crown.
Entitlement of wife to live separately from husband and claim maintenance.
Headnote:Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898-Section 488 - False immorality attributed to wife-Held, wife entitled to live separately from husband due to legal cruelty and file claim for separate maintenance.
Deliberate attribution of immorality falsely to a wife will certainly fall under the definition of legal cruelty and entitle a wife to live separately from such a husband and claim separate maintenance. Chanakya, the great Prime Minister of the Mauryas, has proclaimed this more than 2,200 years ago in his Artha ‘Sastra. In India, this kind of thing has always been considered legal cruelty though not small beatings of wife, cessation of conjugal relations with her for long periods of Deeksha, etc. So the petitioner was certainly entitled to live separately from the respondent and claim separate maintenance from him. On the evidence I fix the quantum of maintenance at ten rupees a month payable from the date of the filing of the petition in the lower Court by the petitioner.
V.S. ----- Petition allowed.
