Maintenance Proceedings Under S.125 CrPC Are Civil Proceedings Though Breach May Result In Penal Consequences: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court noted that maintenance proceedings under Section 125 of the Cr.P.C. are essentially civil in nature and should not be equated with criminal proceedings merely because they involve a penal consequence.“even if non-compliance with an order for payment of maintenance entails penal consequences, as may other decrees of a Civil Court, such proceedings would not qualify as or become criminal proceedings. Nomenclature of maintenance proceedings initiated under the Code of Criminal Procedure, as those provisions find place therein, cannot be held to be conclusive as to the nature of such proceedings.”, the bench comprising CJI Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar remarked. The aforesaid observation of the Court came while deciding a case where it held that the wife's refusal to comply with the decree of the restitution of conjugal rights upon valid cause would not disentitle her from claiming maintenance from her husband under Section 125 of Cr.P.C. It referred to the 1969 Law Commission of India report which emphasized that although maintenance proceedings are of civil nature, the provision is included in Criminal Law to provide an effective and speedy remedy because the Criminal Courts are better equipped for quick enforcement, not forcing the individuals to undergo complex and often-lengthy process of civil litigation. “However, maintenance proceedings are essentially civil in nature and the reason for inclusion of the provisions dealing therewith in the Code of Criminal Procedure was clarified by the Law Commission of India in September, 1969. Significantly, as long back as in the year 1963, in Mst. Jagir Kaur and another vs. Jaswant Singh, a 3-Judge Bench of this Court held that proceedings under Section 488 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, the precursor to Section 125 Cr.P.C., are in the nature of civil proceedings; the remedy, being a summary one; and the person seeking that remedy, ordinarily being a helpless person.”, the Court observed. Also From Judgment: Wife Can Claim Maintenance From Husband Even If She Doesn't Live With Him As Per Decree On Conjugal Rights Restitution : Supreme CourtCase Title: Rina Kumari @ Rina Devi @ Reena Versus Dinesh Kumar Mahto @ Dinesh Kumar Mahato and another Citation : 2025 LiveLaw (SC) 47 Click here to read/download the judgment

Maintenance Proceedings Under S.125 CrPC Are Civil Proceedings Though Breach May Result In Penal Consequences: Supreme Court

Yash Mittal

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