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IN THE HIGH COURT OF MADRAS
Subramanian Patter and Ors.
Versus
Vembammal
Decided On : 08.08.1904
Maintenance - Release of Right - The court held that the agreement with reference to the payment of maintenance did not operate as a release of the right of the party entitled to maintenance to have the amount raised. The expression that the maintenance is to be paid for the party's life cannot be construed as involving such a release.
Fact of the Case:
The plaintiff claimed increased maintenance, but the defendant argued that an agreement operated as a release of the right to increased maintenance.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that there was nothing in the agreement to suggest that the plaintiff had agreed to release her right to increased maintenance. The concluding part of the agreement did not refer to the right to maintenance but to the respondent's claim to certain properties.
Issues: Construction of agreement with reference to maintenance and release of right to increased maintenance.
Ratio Decidendi: The court interpreted the agreement and concluded that the expression for maintenance to be paid for the party's life did not imply a release of the right to increased maintenance.
Final Decision: The appeal was dismissed with costs.
1. The question whether an agreement with reference to the payment of maintenance operates as a release of the right of the party entitled to maintenance to have the amount raised is one of construction of the particular instrument.
2. There is nothing whatever in Exhibit I to suggest that the plaintiff had agreed to release her right to increased maintenance if circumstances entitled her to it.
3. The expression that the maintenance is to be paid to her for her life cannot be construed as involving such a release. Nagamma v. Virabadra I.L.R. l7 M. 392 is a precisely similar case, though the report does not show that the agreement was for the payment of the maintenance for the life of the party there as in fact it was.
4. The concluding part of paragraph 8 of Exhibit I does not refer to the right to maintenance but to the respondents claim to certain properties about which the parties had a dispute.
5. We dismiss the appeal with costs.
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