Category Archives: India

How many Women, aged Parents, and children in India know about their Rights under Sec.125 of Cr.PC.?

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City Criminal Courts and Family Courts premises are full of women in distress seeking maintenance from affluent husbands who may have forced them to leave marital home.

They are also accompanied by their legitimate or illegitimate children who also seek compensation.

The aged mothers and father also come to seek maintenance from their sons who may have thrown out them from their own houses.

All these applications are filed under Sec. 125 of Criminal Procedure Code. No court fee is payable. These are summary (Speedy) provision. A wife does not have bring proof of marriage. Judge has to only see if there were/are “marriage relationship” or not. Same is about children and aged parents. They have to show only make them statements on oath should inspire confidence of judge that they are speaking truth. Often a little evidence is enough.

Some judgements I read long ago in Gujarat said that even one day “Living together like husband and wife” entitles a cheated woman to seek monthly maintenance.

Earlier, these cases used to go on for years. But then one day, Gujarat High Court relying on a Supreme Court judgement held that every court which has power to grant final relief can also grant interim or exparte maintenance order.

Since then all such applications are filled along with interim applications of maintenance which are decided in one or two months. So case may go on but women, children, parents start getting monthly maintenance amounts.

For more details, please consult your lawyer or Google Search for Sec.125 of Cr.P.C.

One Gujarat small court judge discovered a formula to count maintenance payable. Calculate total income of husband. Divide it by total number of dependents on husband and count accordingly.

The law however is silent on how decide amount. Judges look at facts of case and decide as per income, lifestyle status of parties.

No upper limit to what court can award.

Haresh Raichura
17/2/2013

Note: This post is inspired by a journalist and NGO at Hyderabad

When you have a Right to File Appeal appeal in Supreme Court of India? Know truth

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Everyone who loses a case in High Court, do not have Right Appeal in Supreme Court. High Courts are Last Courts for most of cases.

But it is right of Supreme Court under Art. 136 to cancel any order passed by any Authority or Court if it so thinks fit. Further it has a Right under Art. 141 to pass any kind of order to do ultimate Justice to parties in any case.

So under their power, after losing a case, parties file applications to Supreme Court to accept their case under Art. 136 as request Supreme Court to cancel order of High Court under it’s special power.

So it ultimately entirely on Supreme Court Judges to accept or not to except a case.

In my view in Supreme Court about 60,000 civil and criminal cases are filed with such request in one year. Out of these about 70% cases are not accepted.

Where you have a Right of Appeal to Supreme Court

A) Suppose a person is acquitted by trial court, but High Court sends him to Jail for 10Years or more. Then such party has Right to Appeal to Appeal. Where such parties have right to Appeal to Supreme Court, It has to accept such Appeals.

2) Suppose, you have won in one court, but lost in two courts, then also you have good chance under Art 136 to accept your Appeal by SUpreme Court.

Because here Supreme Court looks at both sides. Why one court was in your favour and why other court was not in your favour. One of the court must be wrong. So here you can take calculated chance.

3) There are cases which are First time heard in appeal. Then also there is Right of Appeal. For example, Babari Masjid Case. It was heard and decided first time in High Court. So appeal to Supreme Court was a Right to Appeal.

4) If you approach High Court, to quash a False Case or a False FIR, then also you can approach Supreme Court under Art. 136, because nowhere else appeal lies to Supreme Court.

5) When more than Two States are involved, it is a good idea to approach Supreme Court.

6) When you desire that a case should be transferred from one state to another State, only Supreme Court has power to do so. Here also It is a good idea to approach Supreme Court.

7) There is an issue of national interest. Issue affects people of whole nation, then also it is good idea to Approach Supreme Court by way of Art 32 to PIL. In a separate post, I will right about guidelines for filing of public interest litigations.

8) I will keep updating this post whenever some new point comes to my mind.

There are many other provisions where it is Right to Approach to Supreme Court. But these are mostly do not concern common man. The purpose of this blog to explain law which affects layman in simple language. Hence, I have not mentioned them all.

Haresh Raichura
16/2/2013