Court No. - 49
Case :- CRIMINAL REVISION No. - 601 of 2018 Revisionist :- Rajakaran Opposite Party :- State Of U.P. And 3 Others Counsel for Revisionist :- Raj Kumar Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A.
Hon'ble Saumitra Dayal Singh,J.
Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the record.
This revision has been directed against the order dated 21.11.2017 passed by the Principal Judge, Family Court, Hamirpur under Section 125 Cr.P.C. by which maintenance allowance has been allowed to the opposite party no. 2 @ Rs. 3,000/- and Rs. 1,000/- each to the opposite parties no. 3 and 4 from the date of application i.e. 10.07.2012.
Learned counsel for the applicant submits that the applicant does not have a stable job that he is working as a manual labourer. Therefore, it has been submitted that the maintenance allowance should have been awarded from the date of order and not from the date of application. As to the amount of maintenance allowance, it has also been submitted that the same is excessive keeping in mind his financial status.
From perusal of the impugned order, it is admitted to the applicant, earlier he had been working as Guard at an educational institution for some period in the year 2009. As to his current status, learned court below has found that certain agricultural land are available to the applicant, details of which have been mentioned in the order. Over and above, the applicant has himself disclosed that he is engaged as a manual labourer.
Considering the facts and in light of the claim made by the opposite parties, who are three in number, I do not find the amount of monthly maintenance allowance @ 1,000/- each is either excessive or arbitrary, considering the present high and ever increasing cost of living. Therefore, the order insofar as it awards monthly maintenance allowance @ 5,000/- per month to the opposite parties no. 2, 3 and 4 is concerned, the same does not warrant any interference by this Court. Challenge raised in this regard is thus rejected.
Coming to the order for award monthly maintenance allowance from the date of application, it is noted that the opposite parties had instituted the proceeding in the year 2012. The same remained pending for more than five years.
Admittedly, about Rs. 3,25,000/- is outstanding against the applicant, up to today.
Insofar as the order has been made for payment of maintenance amount from the date of application, I do not find any error in the same in view of the fact that the application had been filed by the opposite party on 10.07.2012, which ought to have been decided within a period of 60 days from that date. However, the same has been decided almost ofter 60 months therefrom.
The opposite parties have not received any amount towards maintenance as had been claimed by them and which under law, they were entitled to. Also, even upon amount as claimed becoming payable they have not become entitled to any interest for the inordinate delay. The cost of such delay, if at all has to be borne by one party, it has to be the applicant herein and not the opposite parties/claimant especially, when the law created an expectation for the application to be decided within sixty days of it being filed. Therefore, in my view the award of the maintenance from the date of application does not suffer from any infirmity.
Insofar as the applicant has prayed for time to make good the deficiency of deposit, looking into the facts it does appear that the applicant is a manual labourer, the ends of justice would be met, if the applicant is allowed some time to make such deposit.
Accordingly, the instant revision is disposed of with the following directions:
1. The applicant shall abide by the order dated 21.11.2017 and shall make timely deposit of monthly maintenance allowance to the opposite parties no. 2, 3 and 4 for the month of March, 2018 onwards.
2. Insofar as the interim maintenance allowance from January to February, 2018 is concerned, if the same has not been deposited till date, the same shall be deposited by the applicant before the court below by 05.03.2018.
3. The arrears of maintenance allowance for the period from the date of application till the date of order shall be deposited by the applicant in seven bimonthly instalments, such instalments being payable on or before 31.03.2018, 31.05.2018, 31.07.2018, 29.09.2018, 30.11.2018, 31.01.2019 and 31.03.2019 respectively. The first six instalments would be of Rs. 50,000/- each while the seventh/last instalment would be for the balance amount.
Subject to such deposits being continued to be made within time as indicated above, no coercive measures shall be adopted against the applicant till the next instalment falling due. The amount so deposited by the applicant shall be released to the opposite parties no. 2, 3 and 4 forthwith.
However, it is made clear that in the event of failure on part of the applicant to comply with any part of the order, at any stage/date, all coercive measures be revived from that stage without any further reference to this Court.
Disposed of.
Order Date :- 22.2.2018 Lbm/-