Background
In the instant case of Shefali Bibi v. Manjur Alam Shefali Bibi submitted a request for maintenance from her husband Manjur Alam under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973. On October 12, 2003, the petitioner’s marriage was officially pronounced, but soon after, her husband and in-laws started abusing her and demanding more payment. The husband was ordered by the Chief Judicial Magistrate to pay Rs. 6,000 per month, but he filed a criminal revision before the Additional Sessions Judge, who reduced the amount to Rs. 4,000 per month. The wife was upset by this decision and filed a writ petition in the current court to overturn the decision and put the previous order into effect.
Argument Advance
The petitioner claimed that her spouse never gave her any support and that she had no residence and independent income. The petitioner argued that the challenged decision should be reversed since it is unreasonable and does not have any justification for changing the original maintenance order.
The respondent argued that in changing the maintenance amount, the Additional Sessions Judge had taken into account all pertinent factors.
Analysis of Court Decision
The impugned order was overturned and the maintenance amount was changed back to Rs. 6,000 per month, payable as of the date the maintenance application was filed in accordance with the standards established by the Supreme Court. Justice Shampa Dutt presided over the single Calcutta high court bench that reached this conclusion.
The court ruled that a man who marries again is still required to support his nine-year first wife. According to the court, a lady who has spent so many years of her life in a relationship with her Husband deserves to be looked after and taken care of by him for as long as she needed it.
The Court approved the current modification request and invalidated the Additional Sessions Judge’s ruling. The Court amends the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate’s ruling and fixes the maintenance amount at Rs. 6,000 per month, payable beginning on the 15th of each month in August 2023, from the day the initial maintenance application was filed. The Court ordered that beginning in August 2023, the unpaid support be paid in 12 equal monthly instalments.
CASE NAME – Shefali Bibi v. Manjur Alam, Criminal Revision No. 969 of 2019