Sir, I refused to live with my husband due to deliberate demand of dowry and act of cruelty. I filed a maintenance case against him under section 125 of CrPC then court granted maintenance. My husband approached my family to reconcile the dispute and convince me to live with him. He approached my family with an ulterior motive to frustrate the maintenance order.
When I resumed marital life the same act of cruelty began because he had no interest to start a new life. My life became miserable thereupon I again decided to leave the matrimonial home. I left the matrimonial home and joined a convent school as a Hindi teacher.
Now I want to file another maintenance case against him however I revoked earlier petition due to resume of matrimonial life. Can I file such a case?
Yes, you can file the second petition for maintenance under section 125 of the code of criminal procedure because the right to maintenance is a continuing right. The second complaint about maintenance is maintainable despite you had approached the court in an earlier petition.
In Mahua Biswas v. Swagata Biswas, (1998) 2 SCC 359 it is held by the Supreme Court that the second petition under section 125 crpc is maintainable and the court can pass maintenance order in the second complaint irrespective of the fact that once the order was passed by him in the past.
It is the paramount duty of the husband to maintain his wife and save her from starvation. Consequently, the wife can claim maintenance anytime when she is living in destitution. You have not committed any mistake by resuming your marital life upon reconciliation of matrimonial dispute. If reconciliation fails and you are bound to live separate then you again entitled to seek maintenance under section 125 crpc.
The basic object of section 125 is to save the wife from starvation or destitution. The wife can claim maintenance under section 125 CrPC if she is unable to maintain herself. The court will pass maintenance order if:
- The applicant is the legally wedded wife.
- She has no sufficient means to maintain herself.
- Her husband has sufficient means but he refuses or neglects to maintain her.
Maintenance is a continuing right and an entitled person can approach the court under section 125 crpc anytime and without any period of limitation. You think that it is a second application for maintainable but it is a fresh complaint about maintenance. However, maintenance is a continuing right so you can move afresh complaint whenever you face vagrancy.
you have revoked earlier maintenance as the result of cheating of your husband. Your husband played a dirty game intending to frustrate you right to maintenance. But, your right is still alive and you can move a complaint under section 125. The court may admit your complaint because there is no restriction to move the second complaint.
