The court upheld the principle that interim maintenance should not be unduly altered without fully assessing the parties' circumstances and the status of marital validity.

ORDER

As both these criminal revision petitions challenge the same judgment of the Appellate Sessions Court and as the respective revision petitioners in these cases are the applicant and the respondent in the proceedings under the Domestic Violence Act, these petitions are disposed of on the basis of this common order.

2. The prayers in Crl.R.P No.398/2020 are as follows:

“i. Issue directions or orders, quashing the Annexure A1 judgment to the extent it reduced the monthly maintenance from Rs 16,500/- to Rs 10000/- per month;

ii. Issue directions or orders, staying the operation of Annexure A1 judgment to the extent it reduced the monthly maintenance from Rs 16,500/- to Rs 10,000/- per month;

iii. To issue such other reliefs as this Honourable Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case.”

3. The prayer in Crl.R.P No.415/2020 is as follows:

“................ to call for the records leading to the judgment of the Learned Addl.District and Sessions Court, Muvattupuzha in Crl.Appeal No.250/2019 dated 11.3.2020 and to revise, alter, modify or set aside the same and dismiss CMP 907/2019 in M.C.2/2019 of the Judicial first Class Magistrate Court, Piravom and pass such further orders as are deemed fit and proper on the facts and circumstances of the case including costs of the proceedings to the petitioner.”

4. The revision petitioner in Crl.R.P No.398/2020 is stated to be the wife of the revision petitioner in Crl.R.P No.415/2020, whereas the revision petitioner in Crl.R.P No.415/2020 would claim that the marriage between the abovesaid parties have not been solemnized in the manner known to law, etc. Further, for the sake of convenience, the revision petitioner in Crl.R.P No.398/2020 will be referred to as the wife and the revision petitioner in Crl.R.P No.415/2020 will be referred to as husband. The wife has filed M.C No.2/2019 before the Judicial First Class Magistrate’s Court, Piravom, in which the husband has been arrayed as the respondent therein, seeking various reliefs under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (hereinafter referred for short as ‘DV Act’).

5. The learned Magistrate has passed the impugned interim order dated 23.07.2019 in Crl.M.P No.907/2019 in M.C No.2/2019, ordering that the wife should be paid interim maintenance at the rate of Rs.16,500/- per month by the husband during the pendency of the abovesaid main petition. Certain other interim reliefs are also granted in the said interim order dated 23.07.2019.

6. Aggrieved thereby, the husband has filed Crl.Appeal No.250/2019 before the First Additional Sessions Court, Muvattupuzha under Sec.29 of the DV Act, challenging the said interim order dated 27.10.2019 rendered by the Judicial First Class Magistrate’s Court, Piravom in Crl.M.P No.907/2019 in the above M.C, ordering the abovesaid monthly interim maintenance. The abovesaid Appellate Sessions Court has passed the impugned judgment dated 11.03.2020 in Crl.Appeal No.250/2019, whereby the said appeal has been partially allowed by ordering that the interim maintenance awarded by the learned Magistrate at the rate of Rs.16,500/- per month, will stand reduced to Rs.10,000/- per month. All the other interim reliefs granted by the learned Magistrate has been upheld in the said judgment.

7. Being aggrieved by the said appellate judgment, the wife has filed the aforecaptioned Crl.R.P No.398/2020 contending that the Appellate Sessions Court has exercised its discretion wrongly in having reduced the interim maintenance from Rs.16,500/- per month, as ordered by the learned Magistrate to Rs.10,000/- per month. When Crl.R.P No.398/2020 had come up for consideration on 10.06.2020 and had also granted the interim order that the operation and enforcement of the impugned judgment of the Appellate Sessions Court to the extent it has reduced the monthly maintenance awarded to the petitioner from Rs.16,500/- per month to Rs.10,000/- per month, will stand stayed until further orders.

8. Further, t