MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court allowed the revision petition of a destitute seeking monthly maintenance from her divorcee husband holding that living separately due to divorce is sufficient cause for seeking maintenance.
Justice R Mala while reversing the order of the Thanjavur Principal Sessions Court, which denied maintenance to the women Kavitha alias Urmiladevi held that the divorcee wife is entitled to maintenance as per Section 125 CrPC.
Urmiladevi in her revision petition submitted that in April 2010 divorce was granted to her on an application filed by her husband. The Kumbakonam Magistrate awarded a monthly maintenance of `5,000 to her.
Challenging this, the husband, who is working in a Sub-Registrar’s Office filed an appeal in the Thanjavur Principal Sessions court, which quashed the Magistrate’s order. The court had observed that even though the marriage has been proved, the wife was away from the matrimonial home without any reasonable cause and the material evidence did not prove that the wife has been living separately with sufficient reasons
Then, Urmiladevi approached the High Court and submitted that after her father’s death, she is dependent on a temporary job and hence entitled for maintenance.
To this, Justice Mala said “Since she (Urmiladevi) was divorced by her husband, that is cause for her to live away from the matrimonial home.So, the finding of the first appellate Court is liable to be set aside.”