The arrears of maintenance are considered the property of the wife and are heritable, and the entitlement to such arrears is determined by the provisions of the Hindu Succession Act, particularly Section 15(1)(c).

ORDER :

(Prayer : Criminal Revision Case has been filed under Sections 397 read with 401 of Code of Criminal Procedure to allow the above criminal revision case by setting aside the fair and decreetal order dated 23.11.2021 passed in CMP No.2529/2021 in M.C.No.1 of 2014 on the file of the Judicial Magistrate Court No.II, Madurantagam.)

Challenging the impugned order dated 23.11.2021 passed in CMP No.2529 of 2021 in M.C.No.1 of 2014 by the learned Judicial Magistrate No.II, Madurantagam, the present criminal revision case has been filed.

2. The fact of the case is that the petitioner is the husband. The respondent is the mother-in-law of the petitioner. The petitioner married the respondent's daughter Saraswathi in the year 1991. Due to misunderstanding, they separated. The petitioner/ husband by filing a divorce petition under Section 13 (1)(i) (b) of Hindu Marriage Act before the Sub Court, Seyyur, got a divorce decree by an order dated 20.01.2005. Thereafter, Saraswathi filed a maintenance case in M.C.No.1 of 2014 before the Judicial Magistrate No.II, Madurantagam. After trial of the maintenance case, the learned Judge awarded a monthly maintenance of Rs.7,500/- payable by the petitioner/husband to his wife Saraswathi on 22.01.2021 and the amount was ordered to pay from the date of petition i.e. on 04.01.2014. Thereafter, his wife Saraswathi filed a maintenance application in M.C.No.1 of 2014 and got maintenance order. For collecting the arrears of maintenance, the wife Saraswathi filed an application in CMP.No.678 of 2021 in M.C.No.1 of 2014 before the Judicial Magistrate No.II, Maduranthagam. In the petition, she claimed the arrears of maintenance amount of Rs.6,37,500/-. Pending petition, the wife Saraswathi died on 05.06.2021. Thereafter, her mother filed CMP.No.2529 of 2021 to implead her as a petitioner and to permit her to recover the arrears of maintenance amount of Rs.6,22,500/-. The learned Judge, after hearing both the parties, allowed the petition for impleading the mother-in-law of the petitioner as petitioner for collecting the arrears of maintenance amount of Rs.6,22,500/- on the ground that she all along acted as a guardian to the deceased wife Saraswathi as she was mentally affected and also a legal heir to the deceased daughter. Aggrieved by this order, the petitioner/husband filed the present criminal revision case, which is under challenge.

3. The learned counsel for the petitioner would submit that the relationship of the parties is not disputed. The wife Saraswathi, who is the petitioner in the maintenance case, died on 05.06.2021. The maintenance is the personal right of the petitioner's wife. On her death, that right extinguished, no cause of action has survived. Since the right to claim maintenance would not have survived on her death, her mother is not competent to continue the proceedings and not entitled to claim arrears of maintenance from the husband of the deceased her daughter. Therefore, the respondent mother-in-law would not be impleaded in the place of his wife Saraswathi to collect the arrears of maintenance. Hence, the impugned order is unsustainable and it is to be set aside and the criminal revision case has to be allowed.

4. In support of his argument, the learned counsel for the petitioner has relied upon the judgments in (i) Giribala Debi Vs. Nirmalabala Debi (AIR(CAL)- 1935-0-578, (ii)Pandharinath Sakharam Thube Vs. Surekha Pandharinath Thube (CRLJ-1999-0-2919), (iii) Sangeeta Kumari Show Vs. State of West Bengal (CALLT-2006-2-64), (iv)the judgment of this Court dated 29.11.2021 in A.S.No.648 of 2018 (Thiyagarajan and three others Vs. S.Poomathi and three others) and (v) Arunachala Gounder (Dead) by Lrs. Vs. Ponnusamy and others (2022 SCC Online SC 72).

5. The learned counsel appearing for the respondent would submit that in this case, a maintenance decree is passed by the learned Judicial Magistrate No.II, Maduranthagam in M.C.No.1 of 2014 and recognised the wife's right of maintenance a