- (1.)RAJJUBAI and her minor daughter Skakuntala were awarded Under Section 10 and Rs. 3 respectively as maintenance from the applicant Nacre by the First Class Magistrate, Dmdori; and in revision the District Magistrate, Mandla sent back the case for further evidence regarding the quantum of maintenance. The same rates of maintenance were fixed by the first Court and the District Magistrate rejected the application for revision of that order. The applicant has now come up in revision to this Court.
(2.)BAJJUBAI had sought a maintenance order in the civil Courts, but the case was compromised and under the deed of compromise, Ex. P-l, dated 7th September 1945, Netram agreed to pay her Ea. 6 per mensem as maintenance so long as she did not remarry and bahaved according to his directions. Since Bhadon (August-September) 1946, however, he had ceased paying it.
(3.)THE main contention raised in the applicant's behalf was to the effect that as the parties had entered into an agreement, the only remedy Open to Rajjubai and Shakuntala was to file a suit to enforce the agreement. There wag, however, mo decree in the civil suit and it would appear that the plaint was withdrawn. In Saraswati Delee v. Narayandas Chatterji, 59 Cal, 1229 : A. I. R (19) 1932 Cal. 698:33 Cr. L. J. 634 Mitter J. held that an agreement between the husband and the wife enforceable in a civil Court, by which the husband agrees to pay the wife a specific sum per month, does not oust the jurisdiction of the criminal Court Under Section 488, Criminal P. C. and that anything short of a decree entitling the wife to maintenance is not sufficient to oust such jurisdiction. The learned Judge in that case followed the rule in P. C. Kent v. E. E. L. Kent, 49 Mad. 891 : A. I. R (13) 1926 Mad. 59 in which the following observations were made: The existence of the order 'directing payment of maintenance' ia not sufficient to oust the jurisdiction of the Magistrate, for a mere order of maintenance is not equivalent to maintaining the wife; and the order whatever may be its force, or nature, cannot take away tie Magistrate's jurisdiction be long as the husband neglects or refuses to maintain the wife.