Criminal Procedure Code, 1973
Section 125—Maintenance—Rejection of application—Revision—In terms of Section 11 of the Hindu Marriage Act, a marriage contracted during the lifetime of a spouse is void ab initio, and such a union cannot create the legal status of husband and wife—Revisionist admits her subsisting marriage with another person and there is no decree of divorce—Her plea that she acted on the basis of mutual settlement and notarized deed cannot confer her legal status, particularly when she herself initiated divorce proceedings which later stood dismissed—Plea of ignorance regarding the dissolution of first marriage cannot be accepted—Although revisionist resided with opposite party for nearly ten years and relationship may appear akin to marriage, yet such cohabitation does not confer the legal status of a wife under Section 125 of CrPC—Even assuming a marriage ceremony was performed, the same would be void as the applicant’s earlier marital tie continued to subsist—She cannot claim maintenance under Section 125 of CrPC based on a long standing relationship—Revisionist does not fall within the ambit of a legally wedded wife for the purpose of Section 125 of CrPC—Order passed by trial court rejecting maintenance application—Proper.
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