1 (23) WP 2582/10 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION Amk WRIT PETITION NO. 2582 OF 2010 Tushar Ganesh More .. Petitioner Vs. Shradha Tushar More & Anr. .. Respondents Mr. Mahendra Agavekar i/b Mr. Mandar Limaye for the Petitioner. Mr. Rakesh Bhatkar for the Respondents. CORAM : MRS. ROSHAN DALVI, J. Date : 8th February, 2011. P.C. 1. The Petitioner husband has challenged the order dated 17th June, 2010 of the Sessions Judge, Ratnagiri granting maintenance of Rs.1,000/- to the Respondent wife. The parties are married on 16.02.2005. They resided together only until 12.08.2005. 2. It is the case of the husband that the wife left the matrimonial home on 16.03.2006 because she had an extra marital affair. She never returned. She never replied to his legal notice. The Petitioner filed the Petition for nullity of marriage as well as divorce on the ground of cruelty. His Petition for nullity has been rejected. His Petition for divorce has been granted. The Respondent wife is, therefore, divorced from the Petitioner husband. 3. The husband has shown that the wife left the matrimonial home on her own accord because of her intimacy or extra marital affairs with another person. The Petitioner has relied upon a photograph. The photograph only shows the 2 parties standing together. 2 (23) WP 2582/10 The Petitioner has also relied upon a letter stated to have been written by the Respondent. The Respondent refuted the letter. The letter has not been proved. Consequently the Petitioner’s case that the Respondent had an affairs and had herself deserted the Petitioner, is not shown. 4. Under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Petitioner wife is neglected in the expression “wife”. Under sub-section 4 of Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure a wife would be disentitled to maintenance only if she is living in adultery or if she without any sufficient reason refused to live with her husband or is living separately by mutual consent. The Petitioner has shown neither of these facts. 5. Well before the order came to be passed, the parties had separated. The Respondent had left the matrimonial home. The contention of the Petitioner husband that his marriage was a nullity has been negative. Hence the parties did live as husband and wife and thereafter had disputes. 6. There is no alimony or maintenance granted to the Respondent wife in the Petition for divorce taken out by the husband. She has not made any other separate application for maintenance also. The impugned order is the only order of maintenance. It grants maintenance in a sum of Rs.1,000/-. It cannot be interfered with. Writ Petition is dismissed. ( ROSHAN DALVI, J.)