Case – Badshah v. Sou. Urmila Badshah Godse & Anr., 2014
Fact – This was a wife’s petition for maintenance for herself and her child, under section 125 CrPC. The husband resisted the same on the ground that there was no legal marriage and hence he was not liable. The marriage was performed when the husband already had a subsisting marriage which fact was concealed from the wife and she was duped into marriage by pretending that he was single. The courts below granted her petition against which the husband filed the present appeal.
Issue – Whether the living together of a man and woman as husband and wife for a considerable period of time would raise the presumption of a valid marriage between them and whether such a presumption would entitle the woman to maintenance under Section 125, Cr.P.C.?
Whether strict proof of marriage is essential for a claim of maintenance under Section 125, Cr.P.C. having regard to the provisions of the Domestic Violence Act, 2005?
Contentions and Judgement:
- The court took a very holistic and constructive view and held that there is a difference between a situation where the claimant is innocent and has no knowledge and is defrauded, and one where knowing fully well and aware of the facts enters into a marriage which is legally not valid.
It observed:
While dealing with an application of destitute wife and hapless children or parents under this provision, the court is dealing with marginalised sections of the society. The purpose is to achieve “social justice” which is the Constitutional vision enshrined in the preamble of the Constitution of India…Therefore, it becomes the bounden duty of the courts to advance the cause of social justice…we should avoid a construction which would reduce the legislation to futility and accept the…construction based on the view that Parliament would legislate only for the purpose of bringing about an effective result. If this interpretation is not accepted, it would amount to giving a premium to the husband for defrauding the wife.
Therefore, at least for the purpose of section 125 CrPC such a woman is to be treated as a legally wedded wife
- It was held that the wife of the second union can sustain a claim for maintenance under section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and that purposive interpretation needs to be given to that provision. The Court held that the second wife would be treated as wife for the purposes of that section and that the husband could not take advantage of his own wrong and deny her maintenance on the ground that his second wife was not his legally married wife and therefore disentitled to maintenance.
- The Court has impressed that if man and woman have been living together for along time even without a valid marriage, as in that case, term of valid marriage entitling such a woman to maintenance should be drawn and a woman in such a case should be entitled to maintainapplication under Section 125, Cr.P.C.
- We are of the opinion that the judgments of this Court in Adhav and Savita ben cases would apply only in those circumstances where a woman married a man with full knowledge of the first subsisting marriage. In such cases, she should know that second marriage with such a person is impermissible and there is an embargo under the Hindu Marriage Act and therefore she has to suffer the consequences thereof. The said judgment would not apply to those cases where a man marriages second time by keeping that lady in dark about the first surviving marriage.
- We are of the opinion that there is a non-rebuttable presumption that the Legislature while making a provision like Section 125 Cr.P.C., to fulfill its Constitutional duty in good faith, had always intended to give relief to the woman becoming wife under such circumstances.
- For the aforesaid reasons, we are not inclined to grant leave and dismiss this petition.
