Woman Not Entitled To Maintenance U/S 125 CrPC From 'Second' Husband If She Hasn't Divorced First Husband: MP High Court

Observing that maintenance under section 125 CrPC can only be granted in favour of a legally wedded wife, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has said that a woman, who has not divorced her first husband, is not entitled to get maintenance from her second husband.

"A woman, having solemnized second marriage to another person is only entitled to get maintenance from that person, when the first marriage has been declared either null and void or she has obtained a divorce decree from her first husband," the bench of Justice Prem Narayan Singh remarked.

With this, the Court upheld the order of a family court which rejected an application of the Revisionist wife under Section 125 CrPC seeking maintenance from her second husband.

Essentially, the family court had rejected her plea on the ground that the wife had failed to prove that she being the legal wife of the respondent/husband was liable to receive the maintenance.

Before the Court, defending the order of the family court, the counsel for the respondent (second husband) submitted that since the woman was already married to another person, she could not claim maintenance from his client, a person with whom she lived only for some time.

Taking into account the facts of the case, the Court referred to the MP High Court's May 2023 decision in the case of Bhagwandas S/o. Tilakdhari Shah vs. Panpati w/o. Bhagwandas Shah, wherein it was held that a second wife whose marriage is void on account of survival of the first marriage would not be a legally wedded wife, and therefore would not be entitled to maintenance under Section 125 CrPC.

Further, the Court also referred to the relevant provision to note that though Section 125 CrPC contemplates that an illegitimate child is entitled to get maintenance, however, an illegitimate wife is not entitled to get maintenance. 

In view of this, observing that the wife should be a "legally wedded wife" for claiming maintenance from her husband, the Court said that since in the case at hand, as the petitioner could not get a divorce from her earlier husband, she would not be entitled to get maintenance from her second husband/petitioner. With this, her plea was dismissed.

Case title - SANGEETA RATHORE vs. NARESH RATHORE [CRIMINAL REVISION No. 4495 of 2018]

Case Citation:

Click Here To Read/Download Order