Navjeevan Law College Nashik: A Gateway to Your Legal Career

Navjeevan Law College Nashik: A Gateway to Your Legal Career

 

Latest Relevant Cases - Annadurai v. Jaya,2023

Latest Relevant Cases, - Annadurai v. Jaya,2023

Case Name:

Annadurai v. Jaya, 2023

Case Category:

Latest Relevant Cases

Petitioner:

Annadurai 

Respondent:

  Jaya 

Bench:

Honourable Justice V Sivagnanam 

Citation:

Crl.R.C.No.291 of 2022 and Crl.M.P.Nos.3028 & 9397 of 2022

Laws Involved: 

Sections 397 read with 401 of Code of Criminal Procedure 

Facts:

    The petitioner is the husband. 

    The respondent is the mother-in-law of the petitioner. 

    The petitioner married the respondent's daughter Saraswathi in the year 1991. 

    Due to misunderstanding, they separated. 

    The petitioner/ husband by filing a divorce petition under Section 13 (1)(i) (b) of Hindu Marriage Act before the Sub Court, Seyyur, got a divorce decree by an order dated 20.01.2005. 

    Thereafter, Saraswathi filed a maintenance case in M.C.No.1 of 2014 before the Judicial Magistrate No.II, Madurantagam. After trial of the maintenance case, the learned Judge awarded a monthly maintenance of Rs.7,500/- payable by the petitioner/husband to his wife Saraswathi on 22.01.2021 and the amount was ordered to pay from the date of petition i.e. on 04.01.2014. 

    Thereafter, his wife Saraswathi filed a maintenance application in M.C.No.1 of 2014 and got maintenance order. 

    For collecting the arrears of maintenance, the wife Saraswathi filed an application in CMP.No.678 of 2021 in M.C.No.1 of 2014 before the Judicial Magistrate No.II, Maduranthagam. In the petition, she claimed the arrears of maintenance amount of Rs.6,37,500/-. Pending petition, the wife Saraswathi died on 05.06.2021.

    Thereafter, her mother filed CMP.No.2529 of 2021 to implead her as a petitioner and to permit her to recover the arrears of maintenance amount of Rs.6,22,500/-. The learned Judge, after hearing both the parties, allowed the petition for impleading the mother-inlaw of the petitioner as petitioner for collecting the arrears of maintenance amount of Rs.6,22,500/- on the ground that she all along acted as a guardian to the deceased wife Saraswathi as she was mentally affected and also a legal heir to the deceased daughter. Aggrieved by this order, the petitioner/husband filed the present criminal revision case, which is under challenge.

    The learned counsel for the petitioner would submit that the relationship of the parties is not disputed. The wife Saraswathi, who is the petitioner in the maintenance case, died on 05.06.2021. The maintenance is the personal right of the petitioner's wife. On her death, that right extinguished, no cause of action has survived. Since the right to claim maintenance would not have survived on her death, her mother is not competent to continue the proceedings and not entitled to claim arrears of maintenance from the husband of the deceased her daughter. Therefore, the respondent mother-in-law would not be impleaded in the place of his wife Saraswathi to collect the arrears of maintenance. Hence, the impugned order is unsustainable and it is to be set aside and the criminal revision case has to be allowed.

Issues:

Whether Section 15(1)(c) of the Hindu Succession Act| Mother Is Entitled to Inherit Property of Her Deceased Daughter 

Judgements:

In view of Section 15(1)(c) of the Hindu Succession Act, the mother is entitled to the property of her daughter. 

    In this case, the arrears of maintenance accrued till the death of her daughter Saraswathi (wife of the petitioner). 

    Therefore, the learned Judge rightly impleaded the mother of the deceased daughter (wife of the petitioner) in the petition for arrears of maintenance. There is no infirmity in the order passed by the learned Judge and no reason to interfere with the impugned order and no merit in the criminal revision case. Accordingly, the criminal revision case is dismissed. Consequently, connected miscellaneous petitions are closed.

Case Learning:

  Section 15(1)(c) of the Hindu Succession Act| Mother Is Entitled to Inherit Property of Her Deceased Daughter.

Reference 

Live Law

Latest Relevant Cases - Muhammed Shaji v. State of Kerala,2023

Muhammed Shaji v. State of Kerala,2023

Case Name:

Muhammed Shaji v. State of Kerala,2023

Case Category:

Latest Relevant Cases

Petitioner:

Muhammed Shaji 

Respondent:

  State of Kerala

Bench:

Honourable Justice Alexander Thomas  

        Honourable Justice Ziyad Rahman A A  

Citation:

CRL.MC NO. 6659 OF 2022

Laws Involved: 

Section .125 and Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973, 

Facts:

The Respondent herein/claimant, has completed the age of majority and is an unmarried Muslim daughter of the petitioner. 

However, the claimant has no case that, she suffers from any physical or mental abnormality or injury, as conceived in Sec.125(1) (c) of the Cr.P.C. 

Therefore, the present claimant is not entitled to make a claim under Sec.125 of the Cr.P.C. 

But the claim has been made before the Family Court. 

Hence, going by the abovesaid perspective, the Family Court need not drive the litigant claimant to file a fresh claim under Muslim Personal Law and on the other hand, with the wholesome objective to avoid multiplicity of proceedings, as envisaged in the afore cited rulings of the Apex Court, can entertain the claim of the respondent herein under Muslim Personal Law.

Sri.V.Philip Mathews, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner herein (father), would submit that the perspectives of adjudication, both in terms of the standard of pleadings, appreciation of evidence, etc., in a claim for maintenance under the Hindu Adoption & Maintenance Act or under Muslim Personal Law, made before a Family Court, is substantially different from that in a claim before the said Court made under Sec.125 of the Cr.P.C., as the latter claim is to be tried on a summary basis, whereas, the former claim is to be tried as a suit. Further, the learned counsel for the petitioner would also urge that the claim under the Hindu Adoption & Maintenance Act is a statutory claim, as the claim is under the provision of an enactment made by the competent Legislature. 

Whereas, the claim made under Muslim Personal Law cannot be said to be statutory, as it is raised in terms of the provisions of Muslim Personal Law, etc. 

Issues:

Whether the Claim of Maintenance Under Personal Law, If Unmarried Muslim Daughter is Entitled to Get Maintenance U/s 125 CrPC.

Whether the Family Court is established, for suit of proceedings for maintenance, including proceedings under Sec.20 of the Hindu Maintenance and Adoption Act, 1956.

Judgements:

After hearing both sides, it is ordered, in the interest of justice, that, in case the petitioner pays an interim maintenance @Rs.2,000/- per month, then he will be at liberty to file an application before the Family Court, seeking modification of the present interim order granted by the said court. 

We have already held that the claim of the respondent herein, under Sec.125 of the Cr.P.C, is not maintainable. Hence, it is ordered that the petitioner will pay interim maintenance to the respondent herein @Rs.2,000/- per month, for the period from August, 2022 onwards and thereafter, can seek for modification of the impugned Annexure-D interim order. Hence, needless to say, the coercive warrant proceedings issued if any by the Family Court for enforcement of the impugned Annexure-D interim order, will not be maintainable and will stand re-called.

Sri.V.Philip Mathews, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner has also invited the attention of this Court to page 175 in Chapter-VII of the text book “Outlines of Muhammadan Law”, Fifth Edition, 2008, Oxford University Press, authored by Asaf A.A.Fyzee, dealing with maintenance.

By placing reliance on the abovesaid text book, the learned counsel for the petitioner would urge that an unmarried Muslim daughter, who is staying away from her father, is not entitled to separate maintenance, unless circumstances are such as to justify her staying away. In that regard, the learned counsel for the petitioner would submit that, admittedly, the case of the respondent herein is that she is living separately from the petitioner (father) and she has not urged any reasons as to justify her staying away from her father and hence, she is not entitled for maintenance, etc.

Per contra, Sri.M.Dinesh, learned counsel appearing for the respondent, would point out that the specific case of the respondent (daughter) is that the petitioner is either re-married or living with a lady other than the respondent's mother and that the respondent's mother and the respondent were forced to live separately from the father, as he did not permit them to reside with him, etc. We need not get into these aspects and it is for the parties to urge such versions before the Family Court.

Sri.V.Philip Mathews, learned counsel for the petitioner, has also placed reliance on some of the provisions of another text book, titled “Sunni Code of Muslim Personal Law applied by Courts of Justice in India” compiled by Sri.M.M.Aliyar, especially Sec.81 under Chapter VII thereof.

Per contra, Sri.M.Dinesh, learned counsel appearing for the respondents, would point out that the abovesaid text book, cannot be said to be authoritative, inasmuch as the afore relied on provisions appears to be distinctly different from the corresponding provisions relied on by the Apex Court in decisions as in Yousaf's case supra [2010 (4) KLT 1 (DB)], Ismayil's case supra [2011 (4) KLT 40] as well as Noor Saba's case supra [(1997) 6 SCC 233]. Further, the learned counsel for the respondents would also point out that it is noted in the penultimate paragraph of the foreword given in the above book that, the acceptance of the qualification, referred to in the said book by the Muslim community in the country and by different religious organizations and significantly by the Legislature of the country, is yet to be awaited, etc. We need not get into these rival submissions, except to say that it is for the parties to urge such aspects, if relevant before the Family Court.

Annexure-D interim order may be treated as an interim order passed by the Family Court in the claim under Muslim Personal Law. With these observations and directions, the above Crl.M.C will stand disposed of.

Case Learning:

  Family Court Can Consider Claim of Maintenance Under Personal Law, If Unmarried Muslim Daughter is Not Entitled to Get Maintenance U/s 125 CrPC. 

Reference:

Indian Kanoon