The Supreme Court held that a wife may be denied interim maintenance under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) if the husband is able to prima facie establish that she was living in an adulterous relationship.
A Bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Vipul M Pancholi observed, “We are of the view that if a husband files an application under Section 125(4) and is, at the first instance, able to establish the charge through evidence ex facie, then only there can be said to be a bar to interim maintenance.”
The ruling came while allowing an appeal filed by a husband whose application under Section 125(4), alleging that his wife was living in adultery, had been dismissed by the trial court. The trial court had held that the issue could only be decided at the stage of final adjudication.
Setting aside that view, the Supreme Court clarified that where the husband is able to produce prima facie evidence supporting the allegation of adultery, the statutory bar under Section 125(4) can operate even at the stage of deciding interim maintenance, without waiting for the final outcome of the proceedings.
The appellant, husband, got married in 2014.
Due to strained relations, the wife left the matrimonial home in 2020, along with the child and valuables. Thereafter, she filed an application under Section 125 CrPC seeking maintenance.
The husband filed an application under Section 125(4) CrPC, contending that on account of adulterous relationships, the wife was not entitled to any maintenance. He placed photographs and other evidence allegedly showing the wife’s infidelity.
The Trial Court dismissed the husband’s application, holding that the authenticity and originality of the documents could only be determined after evidence was exhibited in the main petition.