The financial resources of the wife are a relevant consideration in determining maintenance under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

ANITA CHAUDHRY, J.

1. This is a petition assailing the order dated 10.12.2014 (Annexure P-2) and order dated 03.10.2015 (Annexure P-3), passed on the application filed under Section 125 Cr.P.C.

2. The marriage of the petitioner was solemnized with the respondent on 13.06.2010. The allegations were that the petitioner was turned out of the house some time in June 2011. It was claimed that the respondent was a big agriculturist and had a dairy farm and finance business and had income of Rs.1 lac per month. In her application, the petitioner did disclose that she was a teacher but beyond that she did not disclose her income.

3. The respondent pleaded that the petitioner was a Government Teacher and her last drawn salary was over Rs.32,000/- i.e. in October 2011 and she did not require any amount and she was guilty of concealment of material facts. It was pleaded that the respondent came to know that the petitioner was suffering from polio and this fact was revealed only on the wedding night and the marriage was not consummated and the petitioner was guilty of abandoning the respondent within few days of marriage. It was pleaded that it was a simple marriage and no gifts or Istridhan were exchanged.

4. Both the parties led evidence. From the side of the petitioner, Sukhbir Kaur stepped into the witness box and also examined her brother and her cousins. The respondent examined himself and produced the salary certificate of the petitioner. The respondent also examined Devi Lal who owns land adjoining the land of father of Jatinder. He disclosed that the petitioner had stayed in the house of the respondent only for 2 – 3 days.

5. The parties were married in 2010. The appointment letter of the petitioner was produced in evidence to show that she was in government job since 2001. The Magistrate noted that there was no evidence with respect to the income of the respondent and he was not doing any job. It also noted that there was no evidence that he was having any business or any dairy farm or owned any land and finding the income of the wife to be sufficient the petition was dismissed.

6. A revision was preferred by the wife, which too came to be dismissed.

7. Counsel for the petitioner urged that the husband was working before marriage and he had admitted in his statement that he was doing a private job in a telecom company but he withheld the information with respect to his salary and only admitted that he was getting Rs.5,000/- per month and he immediately left the job the following month and his income was more than Rs.1 lac and both the Courts below have ignored the fact and have dismissed the application. It was urged that simply because the wife was working, was not a good reason for denying maintenance. Reliance was placed upon Simaben Maheshbai Soni Vs. State of Gujrat R/CR.MA/ 18957/2015, DOD 21.10.2015 and Sunita Kachwaha and others Vs. Anil Kachwaha 2014(4) RCR (Criminal) 831.

8. It was urged that in Sunita's Kachwaha's case (supra), the Apex Court had held that merely because the wife was earning was not a ground to reject the claim and the Supreme Court had directed the husband to pay maintenance to the wife.

9. It would be necessary to refer to Section 125 Cr.P.C., which reads as under:-

Section 125. Order for maintenance of wives, children and parents.

(1) If any person having sufficient means neglects or refuses to maintain-

(a) his wife, unable to maintain herself, or

(b) his legitimate or illegitimate minor child, whether married or not, unable to maintain itself, or

(c) his legitimate or illegitimate child (not being a married daughter) who has attained majority, where such child is, by reason of any physical or mental abnormality or injury unable to maintain itself, or

(d) his father or mother, unable to maintain himself or herself, a Magistrate of the first class may, upon proof of such neglect or refusal, order such person to make a monthly allowance for the maintenance of his wife or such child, father or mother, at