A husband is legally obligated to maintain his wife and child, even if he does not have sufficient means.

JUDGMENT :

Dipak Misra, J. - The deserted and neglected wife-the petitioner No. 1, along with her innocent, deprived of fatherly care and concern-the minor child, has preferred the present revision claiming enhancement of the quantum of maintenance, being dissatisfied with the order whereby the Judge, Family Court, Cuttack, has awarded maintenance 'Rs. 200/-and Rs. 100/- per month in favour of petitioner Nos. 1 and 2 respectively from the date of presentation of the petition u/s 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (in short 'the Code') forming the subject matter of Criminal Proceeding No. 123 of 1992.

2. The essential facts are :-

The petitioner No. 1 had married the opposite party in June, 1985 in accordance with Hindu rites. At the time of marriage, the opposite party had demanded Rs. 8,000/-and the father of the petitioner No. 1 being poor could only pay Rs. 5,000/-. After solemnisation of marriage, there was constant demand for the balance amount but as the same could not be paid, the opposite party assaulted the petitioner and neglected to maintain her. Inspite of the strained relationship the petitioner No. 2 was born in their wedlock. Ultimately she was driven away from the house of her husband. Efforts by the village gentlemen to settle the disputes became an exercise in futility. Away from the house of the husband, the petitioner No. 1 was compelled to take shelter in the house of her father. While the petitioner No. 1 was going through the mental torture and agony, the husband opposite party, married one Chhabi Das without caring for the legal consequences and burying the code of ethics in an abandoned graveyard. As the petitioners were not able to maintain themselves, she was constrained to institute the aforesaid proceeding against the opposite party who as stated by the petitioner, is working in Paradeep Phosphates Limited in its bagging plant earning Rs. 2,000/- per month. Apart from the monthly salary the opposite party has four acres of cultivable land from which the opposite party gets approximately Rs. 25,000/- per annum. With these averments, she claimed maintenance of Rs. 600/- per month for herself and the minor child.

3. The oppsite party resisted the claim of the petitioners contending, inter alia, that there was no demand of dowry and the allegation of torture was a myth. Both parties adduced evidence and on cosideration of the evidence, the learned Judge, Family Court, granted maintenance ' Rs. 200/- per month in favour of petitioner No. 1 and ' Rs. 100/- per month in favour of petitioner No. 2 with effect from 13.3.1992. Being aggrieved by this order, the present petitioners are in revision.

4. The learned Counsel for the petitioners contended that once there is a finding that the opposite party is working as a permanent labourer in Paradeep Phosphates Limited, the learned Judge, Family Court, should have allowed the maintenance at the rate prayed for by the petitioners. It is also his submission that there has been no dispute with regard to owning of four acres of landed property, but only stand taken is that this property belongs to the father of opposite party and he has one brother and five sisters. It has been strenuously urged while fixing the quantum, the Judge, Family Court has not given adequate reasons for such determination and that alone makes the order vulnerable.

5. Refuting the aforesaid submissions of the learned Counsel for the petitioner, the learned Counsel for the opposite party submits that he is a daily labourer and therefore, the fixation of maintenance, as has been made is appropriate. He has also submitted that he has complied with the interim directions of this Court and in absence of any specific materials with regard to the salary of the opposite party, the determination made by the learned Judge, Family Court is justified. The learned Counsel has canvassed with vehemence that the financial condition of the opposite party is precarious and he sustains himself by daily labour, a