Supreme Court: Adultery Must Be Proved for Interim Maintenance Denial Under Section 125 CrPC

• The Supreme Court has clarified that adultery must be clearly established before a wife can be denied interim maintenance under Section 125 CrPC.
• Section 125(4) bars a wife who is living in adultery from receiving either interim or final maintenance, but only if adultery is clearly proved.
• The ruling sets a new precedent for cases under Section 125 CrPC and highlights the importance of establishing clear evidence of adultery.

If a husband files an application under Section 125(4) and is, at the first instance, able to establish the charge through evidence ex facie, then only, there can be said to be a bar to interim maintenance.

The Supreme Court has clarified that adultery must be clearly established before a wife can be denied interim maintenance under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). This ruling came in a case where a husband sought to deny his wife interim maintenance, citing her alleged living in adultery. The lower courts had previously held that such applications could only be decided at the final stage of maintenance proceedings.

However, the Supreme Court bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Vipul M Pancholi disagreed with this interpretation. They ruled that if a husband can establish his wife's adultery through evidence, then she would not be entitled to interim maintenance.

Section 125(4) of the CrPC bars a wife who is living in adultery from receiving either interim or final maintenance from her husband. The Supreme Court's ruling clarifies that this bar only applies if adultery is clearly proved, and not just alleged. This distinction has significant implications for cases under Section 125 CrPC.

The case of Himanshu Chordia v State of Rajasthan & Anr serves as a landmark precedent in this area. It highlights the importance of establishing clear evidence of adultery before denying a wife interim maintenance.

This ruling has important implications for lawyers handling cases under Section 125 CrPC. It sets a new precedent for establishing that adultery must be clearly proved before a wife can be denied interim maintenance. This will likely lead to more careful consideration of evidence in such cases.

The Supreme Court's decision also underscores the need for clear and robust evidence in proving adultery. This will help prevent potential miscarriages of justice, where wives are unfairly denied interim maintenance due to unsubstantiated allegations.

Lawyers should note that the Supreme Court has clarified that adultery must be clearly established before a wife can be denied interim maintenance, providing a new precedent for cases under Section 125 CrPC.

Source: Original reporting via Supreme Court