SupremeToday Landscape Ad
Back
Next
Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation
Listen Audio Icon Pause Audio Icon
judgment-img

2025 Supreme(Online)(Chh) 20150

IN THE HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR
Ramesh Sinha, CJ
Prashant Jha – Appellant
Versus
Isha Jha – Respondent
CRR No. 1095 of 2025



Advocates:
For the Appellants/Petitioners: Prashant Jha
For the Respondents: Rashi Tiwari

In executing maintenance orders under Section 125(3) Cr.P.C., the Magistrate must strictly follow the hierarchy of recovery methods provided under Section 421 Cr.P.C. Attachment and sale of property is a mandatory condition precedent before any order for detention or direct salary deduction can be passed.

Headnote:(A) Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 - Section 125(3) and 421 - Maintenance - Enforcement/Execution of orders - Procedure for recovery of arrears - Statutory sequence - Magistrate must exhaust legal modes of recovery in specified sequence before resorting to imprisonment - Issuance of warrant for attachment and sale of movable property is a condition precedent to issuing warrant of arrest or sentencing defaulter - (Paras 22, 25, 26, 31)

(B) Appellate Review - Suppression of facts - Misuse of process - Principles of res judicata and maintainability - Petitioner cannot re-agitate issues already adjudicated by coordinate bench in previous revisions or petitions - Suppression of prior orders regarding same maintenance order leads to rejection of challenge. (Para 33)

Facts of the case:
The petitioner (husband) challenged orders of the trial court regarding the recovery of maintenance arrears, specifically the direct issuance of recovery notices to his employer and subsequent show cause notices. The trial court had bypassed the statutory procedure requiring attachment and sale of movable property, moving directly to salary deductions and threats of contempt. The petitioner also attempted to re-litigate the quantum of maintenance, despite the trial court’s order having been previously upheld by a coordinate bench in earlier proceedings.

Findings of Court:
The court observed that the trial court failed to adhere to the mandatory procedural sequence under the Code for recovery of maintenance. The court emphasized that the authority to sentence a defaulter to imprisonment or to issue restrictive recovery orders arises only after the legal methods for attachment and sale of property under the relevant provisions of the Code have been exhausted and proven insufficient.

Issues: 1. Whether the trial court acted within its jurisdiction by issuing direct salary deduction orders and recovery warrants without following the statutory sequence prescribed for recovery of maintenance arrears. 2. Whether the petitioner is entitled to challenge the maintenance order after previously failing in separate proceedings concerning the same matter.

Ratio Decidendi: The court held that Section 125(3) of the Code mandates a specific sequence for enforcing maintenance orders. The court must first attempt to levy the amount through the attachment and sale of movable property or by recovery as arrears of land revenue. Resorting to harsher measures, including threats of contempt or salary deductions, without first exhausting these statutory methods is illegal and contrary to the settled principles of justice and procedure.

Result: Revision petition partly allowed. Impugned recovery orders set aside with directions to the trial court to follow proper statutory procedure within three weeks.

Table of Content
1. procedural history of matrimonial and maintenance disputes between parties. (Para 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 12 , 14)
2. petitioner's challenges to maintenance validity and recovery process. (Para 10 , 15)
3. respondent's argument on non-maintainability and suppression of facts. (Para 16)
4. statutory procedure for execution of maintenance orders under crpc. (Para 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30)
5. court intervention in improper recovery/salary attachment proceedings. (Para 31 , 32)
6. rejection of repetitive challenges and suppression of facts. (Para 33 , 34)

CAV ORDER

1. Heard Mr. Prashant Jha, petitioner in person as well as Ms. Rashi Tiwari, learned counsel, appearing for the respondent.

2. The present revision petition is being filed under section 19(4) of Family Court's Act 1984 read with Section 438 & 442 of BNSS of 2023 by the petitioner with the following prayers :-

(1) It is therefore prayed that this Hon’ble Court may kindly be pleased to call the entire record of the case for it’s kind perusal.

(2) It is therefore prayed that this Hon’ble Court may kindly be pleased to set aside impugned order (Annexure P/1) dated 31.07.2025, in the interest of justice.

(3) It is therefore prayed that this Hon’ble Court may kindly be pleased set aside impugned order (Annexure P/2) dated 13.03.2025, in the interest of justice.

(4) That, the Hon’ble Court is requested to set aside M.C.C. No. 502/2022 (Annexure P/3) on ground of cruel behaviour of respondent.”

3. Brief facts as reflects from the pleading and documents annexed with the petition are that the marriage between the petitioner (husband) and the respondent (wife) was solemnized on 10.06.2017 as per their rites and customs. At the time of marriage, it was settled between the parties that the wife will continue her studies at Bilaspur as the husband was also in service at Bilaspur. The brother of the husband has also got married on the next day of the marriage of the parties. Immediately thereafter, the husband and his parents have compared the dowry of the husband and his brother and started teasing the wife and started harassing her. The rude behaviour of the husband and his parents would become aggravating day by day but the matrimonial knot between them was started losing. When the wife complaining the difficulties to her in laws, they also asked her to keep silence and not to disclose the same to her parents and pressurizing her to give divorce to their son (husband). Ultimately, the wife was sent to her parents’ house in the year 2019. Even after repeated efforts and making telephonic calls to the husband, he has not taken her back with him.

4. The husband had filed an application before the learned Family Court, Bemetara, for restitution of conjugal rights. In the proceeding of restitution of conjugal rights, the wife shown her willingness to reside with her husband and had also filed an application under Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, for grant of maintenance pendente-lite. The matter was compromised between the parties and the husband has taken her back with him where she resided with her husband for about 02 months. After about 02 months, the husband again started harassing his wife and pressurized her to give divorce to him and he started abusing and beating her. She again came back to her parents’ house and with the intervention of the community members and senior members of the family, the matter was again settled between them, and she again started residing with her husband. When the incident started again, she returned back to her parents’ house and made a complaint to the Mahila Thana, Raipur. During the counselling, the matter was again compromised with the condition that both of them would reside at Raipur and they started residing at Raipur at Professor Colony, at Raipur in a tenanted house. When the respondent wife was again harassed by the petitioner husband, she started residing at hostel at Purani

Click Here to Read the rest of this document
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
SupremeToday Portrait Ad
supreme today icon
logo-black

An indispensable Tool for Legal Professionals, Endorsed by Various High Court and Judicial Officers

Please visit our Training & Support
Center or Contact Us for assistance

qr

Scan Me!

India’s Legal research and Law Firm App, Download now!

For Daily Legal Updates, Join us on :

whatsapp-icon Back to top