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  Metros   Mumbai  17 Aug 2019  Court rejects petition against alimony clause

Court rejects petition against alimony clause

THE ASIAN AGE.
Published : Aug 17, 2019, 1:42 am IST
Updated : Aug 17, 2019, 1:42 am IST

A bench of Justices Akil Kureshi and S.J. Kathawalla dismissed the plea filed by one Mohd Hussain Patil.

Bombay high court
 Bombay high court

Mumbai: The Bombay high court has dismissed a petition filed by a man challenging the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) provision related to maintenance for divorced women.

The petitioner had alleged that the provision was discriminatory as it provided for maintenance only for a divorced woman and not a man if he were to demand it.

A bench of Justices Akil Kureshi and S.J. Kathawalla dismissed the plea filed by one Mohd Hussain Patil.

The court ruled that section 125 was a “welfare provision” meant for the “protection of the needy and weaker section of society”.

The bench cited several apex court judgments to maintain that the provision was not discriminatory. It further said Section 125 is not meant to be a punishment for a man, but it seeks to ensure that in cases where a man is capable of providing for the categories of persons mentioned, he does not shirk his responsibility.

Mr Patil, a resident of Solapur, was granted a divorce and directed by a local family court in 2014 to pay a monthly maintenance of `30,000 to his wife and `10,000 per month to his minor son as per the provision under Section 125 of the CrPC.

The maintenance order was upheld by a single bench of the Bombay high court. Following the order, Mr Patil filed a writ petition in the high court in 2018, challenging the very provision that provides for such maintenance.

Mr Patil, however, argued that this provision was discriminatory and in breach of a man’s constitutional right to life, and his constitutional guarantee against discrimination under Articles 14 and 15 of the Indian Constitution, respectively.

However, section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code “removes this equality and brings the angle of providing maintenance only to a wife”.

Tags: bombay high court