Point of law : The maintenance includes reasonable expenses and incident to her marriage apart from food, clothing, residence, education and medical attendance and treatment. The obligation cast under Section 20 of the Act, 1956 is on both the parents.

JUDGMENT :

1. The present appeal is directed against the order of rejection of application of the daughter filed under Section 20(3) of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act, 1956") seeking maintenance from her father. In the said application, she had claimed maintenance on two grounds; firstly that she had been doing nursing course and her mother had incurred huge expenditures in educating her. She was paying Rs.3500/-per month towards fee and there was no other source of income. She, therefore, demanded the fee being paid by her for continuing the said course. Another ground to seek maintenance was that the applicant-daughter was of marriageable age and she needed money towards marriage expenses which was the responsibility of her father.

2. The said application filed on 7.5.2015 had been rejected vide order dated 6.10.2017 on the ground that the fee receipts which were submitted by the applicant for pursuing the nursing course were of the year 2012. By the time the case was decided, she had completed the nursing course. Further after completion of the said course, the appellant got a job from which she was earning Rs.4500/-per month. It was also noted by the family court that an amount of Rs.1000/-per month was being paid to the appellant till she attained the age of majority on 25.2.2011. As regards the claim of the appellant for marriage expenses, there is no whisper in the entire judgment.

3. The respondent namely Sri Balmukund Tiwari, father of the appellant is personally present in the Court. The personal presence of the appellant has been dispensed with by the order dated 20.10.2021.

4. Ms. Akanksha Sharma learned Advocate for the appellant, at the outset, states that the appellant though is pursuing a higher study course namely "Post Basic Nursing Training course" in a college at Bhopal wherein she had taken admission in the Academic session 2017-18 but she has decided not to pursue her prayer for grant of expenditures/fee incurred for the said course.

The appellant, however, presses her claim for the marriage expenses.

The contention is that the appellant is aged about 27-28 years and being of marriageable age, her mother is looking to the suitable proposals but none of them could be materialized for want of financial resources. The amount of Rs. 10 Lacs has been demanded by the appellant towards the expenditures to be incurred in her marriage.

5. On a query made by the Court, Sri Rajendra Prasad Tiwari learned Advocate for the respondent-father states that an amount of Rs.1000/-per month was being given towards maintenance to the appellant till she had attained majority on 25.2.2011. It is admitted that the respondent-father had not paid a single penny towards education of his daughter who had completed Nursing Course and is pursuing a "Post Basic Nursing Training course" in a college at Bhopal, from the finances initially arranged by her mother and now by herself.

The contention of the learned counsel for the respondent-father is that the appellant is self-sufficient as she has started earning after completion of the Staff Nursing Course. However, it is an admitted fact of the matter that the respondent is in the Government Department and he is working as Tube-Well Operator in the Irrigation Department. As per own admission of the respondent-father, he is receiving salary of Rs.42,506/-per month, after deduction of the P.F. and other amount towards compulsory deductions. Whereas the appellant has no other source of income than her own earning, which according to the respondent itself is barely Rs.4500/-per month. Out of the said earning the appellant is also incurring expenditures for payment of fee for pursuing higher study Nursing course and also bearing her daily expenditures.

As regards the decision of the family court, there is no deliberation on the issue of demand of the appellant for marriage expenses.

6. The claimant daughter is living with her mother for the last severa