Latest Judgement

1. The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India has recently observed that a women can claim maintenance from her second husband under Section. 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code, even if her first marriage is not dissolved legally by the court.
2. The Apex court observed that if the wife and her first husband have mutually parted ways, absence of court divorce decree does not stand as a hurdle for her to claim maintenance from the second husband, under Section. 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
3. In the matter of N. Usha Rani V/s Moodudula Srinivas, the Apex court observed that the second husband had knowledge that the wife had separated from her first husband on the basis of an memorandum of understanding and she had not obtained mutual consent divorce decree from the court. The second husband in spite of having knowledge of subsistence of wife’s first marriage, married her. The wife and the second husband had a child born out of their union and later they parted ways due to differences. Thereafter the wife filed maintenance application under Section. 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The second husband had challenged wife’s application under Section. 125, claiming that the lady cannot be considered as a wife as she had an existing marriage with the first husband. The wife defended claiming that the term wife mentioned in the Section. 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code, must be read broadly and it must also include a woman in a void marriage. The question before the Apex court was “If a women can claim maintenance from her second husband, even if her first marriage is subsisting”.
4. The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India observed that if the second husband was aware of wife’s first marriage and he still married her, then he cannot be allowed to take advantage of his own conduct and deny maintenance to the wife under Section. 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The Apex court observed that it is not the case of the second husband that the wife had concealed her first marriage from him and he had knowingly married the wife. The wife produced MOU of separation with her first husband before the Hon’ble Apex Court, and the Apex court observed that the ties between the wife and first husband were dissolved for years, they were de facto separated. The wife was not deriving any benefits out of her first marriage.
5. Payment of maintenance under Section. 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code, is legal and moral duty of the husband. The objective of Section. 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code is welfare of wife, children and parents unable to maintain themselves.

          This article is researched and authored by Advocate Aarun Chanda Mumbai & Pune

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