ORDER :- On January 25, 1972, Smt. Kamlesh Asthana (hereinafter referred to as the 'wife') filed, in the Court of civil Judge, Agra a petition under Section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, for restitution of conjugal rights against her husband Sri Surendra Kumar Asthana, the applicant in this revision. At that time and even now the husband is working and residing in Tehran (Iran). After notices were served on the husband, he on March 24, 1972, put in appearance under protest. On March 25, 1972. he filed an application stating that he was 8 foreign national and was not domiciled in any territory to which the Act extended and that he was not subject to the jurisdiction of Indian courts. He asked for time for filing written statement and prayed that in the mean time the question of jurisdiction be determined. Immediately, thereafter on March 28, 1972, the wife filed an 'application under Section 24 of the Act praying that a pendente lite monthly alimony or monthly maintenance of Rs. 2,000/-per month and a sum of Rs. 1,256/- towards the expenses of the petition may be awarded to her. The application came up for hearing before the Civil Judge on July 6, 1972. On that day the wife insisted that the application under Section 24 of the Act be decided before the question of jurisdiction was considered. The husband on the other hand pressed that the question of jurisdiction be decided first. The Court heard arguments on this question and fixed July 3, 1972 for orders. On July 8, 1972, he passed an order that the application under Section 24 will be decided before the question of jurisdiction can be taken up. Against Oils order the husband filed this revision in this Court on July 28, 1972. The revision was admitted and the proceedings before the Civil Judge were stayed.

2. During the pendency of the revision the wife filed, on October 9, 1972, an application under Section 151, Civil Procedure Code, read with Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act to grant pendente lite alimony of Rs. 2,000/- per month from January 30, 1972. She also prayed for the grant, provisionally of at least Rs. 2,100/- as costs of the proceedings. It was further stated in the application that the revision and the stay application be not heard until the husband complied with the orders of this application. Counter-affidavit and rejoinder-affidavit have been filed in this application. By an application filed on March 26, 1971, the husband sought to file certain documents to establish that he was a foreign national and not domiciled in India. In the revision application, which came up for hearing before me, Sri B.S. Darbari, learned Counsel for the wife contended that the application under Section 151, Civil Procedure Code, read with Section 24 of the Act should be disposed of first and. the interim pendente lite maintenance as well as expenses of this revision be awarded to the wife and that the revision should not be heard on merits till the pendente lite maintenance and expenses were paid by the husband. I have heard Counsel for the parties at length on thin application and on the revision.

3. There is no doubt that an application under Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act is an application for an interim relief during the pendency of the proceedings. Such an application has to be decided before the proceedings are finally disposed of. If such an application is allowed and an order for payment of pendente lite maintenance and/or expenses is passed, there is power in the Court to stay further proceedings till the order is complied with. But the Court has also a discretion, even after passing an order under Section 24 of the Act, to continue with the proceedings and to leave the recovery of the amount awarded to other process of law. In the present case I do not think it fit to postpone the hearing of the revision till after an order under Section 24 is passed and is complied with, as that would not be in the interest of the wife and would further delay the