- (1.) BARKAT Ali Zaidi, J. A Magistrate (Judicial Magistrate- 1st Class, Hamirpur in Criminal Misc. Application No. 50 of 1997) refused to grant maintenance to respondent wife under Section 125 Cr. P. C. The revising Court, (Addl. Sessions Judge in Crl. Revision No. 44 of 1999) reversed the order and granted maintenance of Rs. 500/- per month.
(2.) I have heard Sri Sudha Shanker Verma, learned Counsel for the applicant and Sri R. D. Yadav, learned Addl. Government Advocate for the State. Long and rambling judgments have been written by the Magistrate and the revising Court. The Trial Court held that there had been a customary Divorce called 'chutta CHUTTI' and the marriage stood terminated and the wife respondent married another person Malkhan Singh.
(3.) THE applicant initially sought maintenance for the son and daughter, but it is now agreed, that the daughter is already married, and the son is major, and the question of granting maintenance to them does not arise on this ground. THEre is no controversy and the only question is to grant maintenance to the wife-respondent. Neither the trial Court nor the Revisional Court specified in their orders that the contention of customary Divorce as 'chutta Chutti' was unacceptable on the basis of the well established principle that custom cannot override the written Law. A Divorce could be acceptable only if it was brought about in accordance with the provisions of Hindu Law which was applicable to the parties. The fact of marriage being admitted, it should, therefore, be presumed that the wife-respondent continues to be the legally wedded wife of the Husband-applicant. The question of any entries in the voter list or the Family Register are irrelevant in view of this legal proposition.;