Bombay HC: Wife retains right to maintenance

Mumbai: Even if a woman agrees to waive her right to claim maintenance from her husband, her right to demand it under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) remains, the Bombay high court has held. In a judgment last week, Justice M.S. Sonak observed that section 125 of the CrPC, which provides for maintenance to the wife, was enacted in public interest. The HC was hearing a petition filed by a resident of Sangli in Maharashtra, challenging a lower court’s order to pay maintenance to his estranged wife under the CrPC.

As per the petition, the couple filed a joint plea before a Lok Adalat in 2012, seeking that their marriage be dissolved. They also signed a “consent decree” giving up their right to claim maintenance from each other.

A year later, the wife initiated proceedings under the Hindu Marriage Act and CrPC, claiming that the husband had obtained her consent for the decree “fraudulently”. She demanded monthly maintenance from him. After the magistrate and the sessions court upheld the wife’s plea, the petitioner moved HC, arguing that the wife had earlier voluntarily waived her right to maintenance. In his ruling, the judge said that maintenance under CrPC was a matter of public policy and a private consent deed could not be allowed to override it.