ORDER

Date : 21-03-2022 By this writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner has challenged an order dated 01.11.2014 passed by the respondent Assam State Commission for Women [‘the ASCW’ or ‘the Commission’, for short] in ASCW Case no. 77/2014. By the impugned order dated 01.11.2014, the respondent ASCW had directed the Delhi Public School authority to deduct an amount of Rs. 25,000/- per th month from the salary of the petitioner and to deposit the same before 10 day of every month to the respondent Commission for providing maintenance allowance to the complainant therein.

2. The petitioner has stated that he is working as the Vice-Principal of Delhi Public School at Itanagar and his marriage with the respondent no. 3 was solemnized as per Hindu rites and rituals at Jharkhand on 22.02.2011. It is the case of the petitioner that after the marriage they started their conjugal life at Jagiroad in the district of Morigaon. After few months of their marriage, disputes and differences started developing between them and as a result, they started living separately from one another.

3. The respondent no. 3 had filed a complaint before the respondent Commission on 25.03.2014 seeking adequate maintenance from the petitioner. On receipt of the same complaint, the respondent Commission had registered the said complaint as ASCW Case no. 77/2014 and issued notice to the petitioner for his appearance before the respondent Commission as the sole respondent in ASCW Case no. 77/2014.

4. It is the further case of the petitioner that the respondent no. 3 had also preferred a complaint before the Court of learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Morigaon against the petitioner as accused alleging cruelty and demand of dowry. The Court of learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Morigaon had forwarded the said compliant under Section 156[3], Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 to the Officer In-Charge, Jagiroad Police Station with a direction to register the case and to cause investigation. On receipt of the said complaint, the Officer In-Charge, Jagiroad Police Station registered a case being Jagiroad Police Station Case no. 130/2014 for the offence under Section 498A, IPC read with Section 3 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. After completion in investigation, the Officer In-Charge of the case had filed a charge sheet in Jagiroad Police Station Case no. 130/2014 [G.R. Case No. 855/2014]. At the time of filing the writ petition, the said case, G.R. Case no. 855/2014 was pending.

5. The ground for preferring this writ petition is the order dated 01.11.2014, the contents of which are extracted herein below :

“IN THE ASSAM STATE COMMISSION FOR WOMEN ASCW CASE NO. 77/2014 Smt. Bipasha Dey …..Complainant -vs-

Sri Prasant Bhattacharjee ……Opposite Party

01.11.2014 Complainant is present. The opposite party is absent.

It is submitted that the complainant is the legally

married wife of the Opposite party, who is working as Vice- Principal of Delhi Public School, Itanagar. The complainant states since last one year the Opposite party is staying separately without giving any maintenance to the complainant. Being a Vice-Principal of DPS, Itanagar, the Opposite party is getting monthly salaries in and around Rs. 85,000/- (Rupees Eighty Five Thousand) only and he has no other liabilities. The complainant hails from Jharkhand and neither she has any source of income nor she had any place to reside and therefore

she prays for an adequate maintenance form her husband.

Considering the entire grievance of the petitioner, the Commission deems it fit to pass an Order to the DPS authority to provide maintenance to the complainant. Accordingly it is directed to deduct Rs. 25,000/- (Rupees Twenty Five Thousand) only per month from the salaries of the Opposite party, Sri Prasant Bhattacharjee, Vice-Principal, DPS, Itanagar and deposit the same before 10th day of every month to this Commission as maintenance allowance to the complainant. T