Sandeep Sharma, Judge(oral):

Instant petition filed under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, lays challenge to orders dated 21.09.2024 and 05.10.2024, passed by learned Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Court No.5, Shimla, District Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, in case No.128 Cr.P.C/49932 of 2019 (CNR No.HPSH110499552019) and case No.128 Cr.P.C/7/2019, on the ground that Court below has passed aforesaid orders beyond its jurisdiction and has illegally sent the petitioner to civil imprisonment for more than one month continuously.

2. Quintessential facts, as emerge from the pleadings as well as other material adduced on record by the respective parties, are that respondents No.1 to 3 (wife and minor daughters of the petitioner) filed an application under Section 125(3) Cr.P.C seeking payment of arrears of maintenance, amounting to Rs. 60,000/- i.e. Rs. 5000/- per month from June 2018 to 2019. Since factum with regard to arrears of maintenance never came to be disputed at the behest of the petitioner, Court below, after recording the statement of the petitioner, granted him an opportunity to deposit the maintenance amount, specifically clarifying in the order that failing which, he shall render himself liable for punishment in accordance with law. However, fact remains that petitioner failed to deposit sum of Rs. 60,000/-, whereafter learned Judicial Magistrate, First Class sentenced him to civil imprisonment for a period of 30 days on account of non-payment of arrears pertaining to the month of June, 2018, with a direction that he shall be released forthwith upon payment of the remaining arrears of maintenance i.e., Rs. 60,000/-. Even after expiry of 30 days, petitioner failed to deposit the aforesaid amount, as a result thereof, he was further sentenced to civil imprisonment for a period of 15 days on account of non-payment of arrears of maintenance for the month of July, 2018. Yet again, upon failure to deposit the arrears amount, petitioner was sentenced to civil imprisonment for a further period of 25 days for non-payment of arrears of maintenance for month of August, 2018. In the aforesaid background, petitioner has approached this Court in the instant proceedings, praying therein to quash and set-aside aforesaid orders.

3. In nutshell, case of the petitioner, as has been highlighted in the grounds of the petition and further canvassed by learned counsel for the petitioner, is that learned Court below has acted beyond its jurisdiction in sentencing the petitioner to civil imprisonment for more than one month continuously. While inviting attention of this Court to provisions contained under Section 125 (3) Cr.P.C, learned counsel for the petitioner argued that learned Magistrate could not have sentenced the petitioner to civil imprisonment for a period exceeding one month. To substantiate his aforesaid plea, he placed reliance upon the judgment passed by Hon'ble Apex Court in Shahada Khatoon and others vs. Amjad Ali and others,(1999) 5 SCC 672. Besides above, learned counsel for the petitioner further submitted that otherwise also, no fruitful purpose would be served by keeping the petitioner behind the bars, as he is a labourer and would only be able to pay the arrears of maintenance if he is permitted to work. He further contended that petitioner had previously paid arrears of maintenance amounting to Rs. 1, 30,000/- by selling his land, evidencing that he has all intention to pay the remaining maintenance amount.

4. To the contrary, Mr. Hamender Singh Chandel, learned counsel representing respondents No.1 to 3, while supporting the impugned orders, vehemently argued that no illegality can be said to have been committed by learned Court below while passing the impugned orders, because bare perusal of Section 125(3) Cr.P.C clearly reveals that a person responsible for non-payment /deposit of arrears of maintenance is liable to be sentenced to civil imprisonment for a period of 30 days for each month’s defau