The Calcutta High Court has held that an ex parte decree of divorce obtained by a husband does not, by itself, extinguish his statutory obligation to maintain his former wife if she has not remarried and is unable to maintain herself.
At the same time, the Court held that an unmarried daughter who had already attained majority before the filing of a Section 125 CrPC maintenance petition and was not suffering from any physical or mental abnormality could not claim maintenance under the provision.
Justice Uday Kumar made the observations while partly allowing a criminal revision petition filed by Samar Paul challenging the continuation of maintenance proceedings initiated by his wife, Jyotsna Paul, before the Judicial Magistrate, 1st Court, Uluberia, Howrah.
The couple had married on February 11, 1995, and had two children, a son born in 1996 and a daughter, Sangita Paul, born on October 15, 1999.
The marriage deteriorated over the years and resulted in multiple civil and criminal proceedings.
Following an incident on July 15, 2018, the wife lodged an FIR alleging physical assault and acid-related violence against her.
The husband subsequently initiated matrimonial proceedings seeking dissolution of marriage.
The husband’s matrimonial suit proceeded ex parte and resulted in a decree of divorce on June 20, 2022.
Meanwhile, the wife had obtained an interim maintenance order in 2019 directing payment of Rs. 3,500 per month in aggregate, comprising Rs. 1,500 for herself and Rs. 2,000 for the daughter.
The husband argued before the High Court that the divorce decree had extinguished the matrimonial relationship and, consequently, his obligation to pay maintenance to his wife.
Rejecting the challenge concerning the wife’s maintenance claim, Justice Kumar referred to Explanation (b) to Section 125(1) CrPC, which expressly includes within the definition of โwifeโ a woman who has been divorced by her husband and has not remarried.
โThe dissolution of a marriage, even though a decree secured by the husband, does not ipso facto wipe out his statutory obligation to maintain his former wife,โ the Court held, subject to the statutory requirements.
