Bombay High Court (Goa Bench): A Single Judge Bench of the Goa Bench comprising of C.V. Bhadang, J. allowed a criminal writ petition filed against the judgment of the Sessions Judge whereby the petitioner was directed to pay maintenance to his adult son.
Earlier, Respondent 1 (wife of the petitioner) had filed an application under Section 12 of Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 (DV Act), seeking, inter alia, monetary reliefs. Learned Magistrate by his order granted interim maintenance of Rs. 8000 per month for Respondent 2, son of the petitioner. It was not disputed that Respondent 2 was a major, aged 25 years. The petitioner filed an appeal before the Sessions Judge against the order of the Magistrate contending that under the provision, only a ‘child’ is entitled to maintenance. However, the Sessions Judge dismissed his appeal holding that the petitioner was liable to pay maintenance to Respondent 2 since he was an engineering student with no source of income. Feeling aggrieved, the petitioner approached the High Court.
In order to settle the issue, the High Court referred to Section 2(b) of the DV Act. On perusal of the section, the Court observed that ‘child’ within the meaning of the section means any person below the age of 18 years. In light of the undisputed fact that Respondent 2, son, was 25 years of age, the High Court held that he could not be included within the definition of ‘child’ as envisaged under Section 2(b). Hence, the petition was allowed and the impugned order was set aside. [Antonio De Matos Sequira Almeida v. Felicidade Wilma Almeida, 2018 SCC OnLine Bom 1123, dated 04-06-2018]
Updated the mind