'Subsistence Of Valid Marriage Is Prerequisite For Passing Maintenance Orders U/S 125 Cr.P.C': Jharkhand High Court

The Jharkhand High Court has ruled that a valid marriage is a prerequisite for issuing orders under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.P.C.).

The court set aside a maintenance order issued under Section 125, emphasising that the petitioner's second marriage lacked legal sanctity unless he was validly divorced from his first wife.

Justice Gautam Kumar Choudhary, who presided over the case, stated, “Subsistence of a valid marriage is prerequisite for passing any order under Section 125 of the Cr.P.C. Applicant (AW-3) has herself admitted that Petitioner was having wife and children. It has been deposed by her in para 3 that his first wife was living separately with husband and she is the second wife.”

“Unless the petitioner is validly divorced from his first wife, marriage of the petitioner will have no legal sanctity. In this view of matter, unless there is any material to suggest that there was severance of marital status, any second marriage cannot be recognized in the eyes of law.”

The case in question involved a maintenance order directing the petitioner to pay Rs. 4000 per month to the opposite party no. 2.

The petitioner challenged this order through a criminal revision petition, arguing that the opposite party no. 2 was not his legally wedded wife.

The petitioner also highlighted that the maintenance application lacked details such as the date, time, and place of the alleged marriage.

Furthermore, he contended that a second marriage during the subsistence of a first marriage is not legally valid, thus invalidating the claim of the opposite party no. 2 as his legally wedded wife.

Following these considerations, the court set aside the maintenance order.

Case Title: Rengha Oraon @ Regha Oraon V. State of Jharkhand

LL Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Jha) 119

Click Here To Read Judgment