1. The marriage of the parties to this litigation was dissolved by a decree of divorce on October 4, 1978. The respondent-wife moved an application on September 13, 1979 under Section 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (for short, the Act) for the grant of permanent alimony and as a result thereof she has been granted Rs. 150/per month as maintenance till the time of her death or she remarries. The case of the appellant was that as a matter of fact during the pendency of proceedings under Section 9 of the Act initiated by him, the parties had come to a settlement in the form of an agreement (R. 1) whereby the appellant had foregone his rights to claim the custody of the child (admittedly a daughter was born to the parties as a result of their wedlock) and the respondent-wife had relinquished her all rights of maintenance under Section 125, Cr. P. C. and S. 25 of the Act. The execution of this agreement is not in dispute. It is only its validity which is seriously being disputed. The learned lower Court has absolved the respondent of her liabilities under the agreement on the ground that the same was void as the matter was violative of a public policy, which according to the