IMPORTANT POINT
Parents-in-law will not be entitled to claim maintenance from their widowed daughter-in-law.

JUDGMENT (ORAL)

Heard.

Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith by consent of the parties.

2. A short question that is involved in this petition is as to whether father-in-law and mother-in-law can claim for maintenance from their widowed daughter-in-law under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure? The facts in short are that the petitioner-Shobha, widow of deceased son of respondent no.1 and 2, who was serving as a Conductor in MSRTC. After death of her husband, the petitioner for her survival started doing job in the health department and presently is working at J.J. Hospital, Mumbai. The case of the respondents is that now they are old aged persons having no source of income. Since their son is expired, there is no one to look after them and therefore they filed an application for maintenance in Nyayadhikari Gram Nyayalaya, Jalkot.

3. The petitioner appeared in the proceeding and filed an application below Exhibit-9. She also filed her say in which she has stated that the respondents have four daughters, who are married and staying with their husbands. The respondents are having 2 Acre 30 Gunth of land at Village Kunki, Tq. Jalkot Dist. Latur. They have their own house. After the death of husband, respondent no.2/mother of deceased received an amount of Rs.1,88,000/- from MSRTC. The remaining amount is given to the minor son of the deceased. However the same is not mentioned in the application. She also stated that all the daughters have a share in the property of respondents and therefore daughters are liable to pay the maintenance to their parents/respondents. Her service is not on a compassionate ground in the place of her husband and therefore she is not legally bound to pay the maintenance under Section 125 of Cr.P.C. to the respondents. Thereafter she filed application below Exhibit-9 stating that the application for maintenance is not maintainable against her and prayed for rejection at this stage itself. A say was filed by the respondents stating that the application under Section 125 is maintainable as they come under category mentioned in Section 125 sub-section 1.

4. The learned trial Court after considering a judgment in the case of Smt. Saroj W/o. Govind Mukkawar Vs. Smt. Chandrakalabai Polshetwar and Anr. reported in 2009 ALL MR (Cri) 1139, held that maintenance can be claimed even from the daughter-in-law by relying upon paragraph no.12 of the said judgment. It is further held that since the respondents are senior citizens, without source of liability, this petitioner is liable to maintain the respondents in the peculiar facts of the case. It is this order passed by the Nyayadhikari Gram Nyayalaya, Jalkot, District Latur, against which the petitioner has approached this Court.

5. The submission of the petitioner on the basis of 125 of Cr.P.C. is that the categories of the persons are mention in Clause (a) to (d). of the said Section. The respondents does not fall in any of the categories mentioned in the said Section. For the purpose of this discussion, Section 125 is reproduced as below.

Section 125 in The Code Of Criminal Procedure, 1973

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 such monthly rate not exceeding five hundred rupees in the whole, as such Magistrate thinks fit, and to pay the same to such p