A husband has a legal and ethical duty to maintain his wife and children; imprisonment for default of maintenance payments is justified and not disproportionate when the liability is admitted and payment is not made.

[On note for speaking to minutes of order dated 06/04/2026 in R/CR.RA/624/2014 ]

JITENDRAKUMAR AMBALAL KONDI

Versus

STATE OF GUJARAT & ORS.

Appearance:

ADVOCATE NOTICE SERVED for the Applicant(s) No. 1

BELABEN M NAYAK(7722) for the Respondent(s) No. 2,3,4

MR BHUNESH C RUPERA(3896) for the Respondent(s) No. 2,3,4

PUBLIC PROSECUTOR for the Respondent(s) No. 1

CORAM:

HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE HASMUKH D. SUTHAR

Date : 28/04/2026

ORDER

Perused the note for speaking to minutes.

It appears that there is a stay; therefore, in the last line of paragraph No. 8 of the judgment dated 06.04.2026, the sentence “The interim relief granted earlier stands vacated” is hereby added.

Rest of the order shall remain unaltered.

The present note for speaking to minutes stands disposed of in the aforesaid terms.

(HASMUKH D. SUTHAR,J)

NEUTRAL CITATION

Present Judgment is modified vide Order dtd. 28/04/2026 in R/CR.RA/624/2014

JUDGMENT DATED: 06/04/2026

0.8127133309049472

IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD

R/CRIMINAL REVISION APPLICATION (FOR MAINTENANCE) NO. 624 of 2014

FOR APPROVAL AND SIGNATURE:

HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE HASMUKH D. SUTHAR

Approved for Reporting Yes No

JITENDRAKUMAR AMBALAL KONDI

Versus

STATE OF GUJARAT & ORS.

Appearance:

ADVOCATE NOTICE SERVED for the Applicant(s) No. 1

BELABEN M NAYAK(7722) for the Respondent(s) No. 2,3,4

MR BHUNESH C RUPERA(3896) for the Respondent(s) No. 2,3,4

MS SHRUTI PATHAK, APP for the Respondent(s) No. 1

CORAM:

HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE HASMUKH D. SUTHAR

Date : 06/04/2026

JUDGMENT

1. It is required to be noted that on 31.07.2025, an advocate's notice was issued to the applicant, as his earlier advocate had been appointed as a Public Prosecutor. Though served, none appears for the applicant. Therefore, it clearly appears that the applicant is not interested in prosecuting the present matter. Hence, in view of the judgment of the Hon’ble Apex Court in the case of Taj Mohammad v. State of Uttar Pradesh , decided on 11.08.2023 in Criminal Appeal No.2421 of 2023, this Court has considered the averments made in the application as well as the material placed on record and has proceeded to decide the matter in the absence of the applicant based on available material on record.

2. By way of the present application, the applicant has requested this Court to quash and set aside the judgment and order dated 18.01.2014 passed by the learned Family Court No.1, Ahmedabad in Criminal Misc. Application No.1202 of 2013.

3. It is the case of the applicant that the marriage between the petitioner and respondent No. 1 was solemnized on 03.03.2002 according to Hindu rites and rituals, and out of the said wedlock, respondent Nos. 2 and 3 were born. According to the petitioner, initially the matrimonial life of the parties was cordial; however, with the passage of time, respondent No. 1 started quarrelling with the petitioner and his family members on trivial issues. It is the case of the petitioner that despite his efforts to maintain the matrimonial relationship and provide all necessary facilities, respondent No. 1 left the matrimonial home on 26.08.2007 and thereafter filed Criminal Misc. Application No. 2934 of 2007 seeking maintenance. The said application came to be partly allowed by the learned Court vide order dated 14.05.2013, whereby maintenance of Rs.2,500/- per month was awarded to respondent No. 1, Rs.2,000/- per month to respondent No. 2 and Rs.1,500/- per month to respondent No. 3 from the date of filing of the application,