1 PGK IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY APPELLATE SIDE Criminal Revision Application No.620 of 2008 Miss Apurva Vivek Suryavanshi & anr. ... Applicants v/s. Mr.Vivek Vasantrao Suryavanshi ... ... Respondent Mr.A.S. Desai with Mr.R.S. Ghadge for Applicants. Mrs.Aarti P. Bhide for Res.No.1. Mrs.A.A. Mane, APP for State. ----- CORAM : SMT.ROSHAN DALVI, J. Dated : 26th November 2009 P.C. : 1.This Application is filed challenging the order of the learned Judge of the Family Court, Mumbai in Miscellaneous Application No.72 of 2004 dated 27.6.2007. The parties agreed to take divorce by consent. The parties, by consent, decided upon the maintenance payable to the two children of the parties by the Respondent herein, who is their father. Despite the consent, an application for modification has come to be filed. 2.It must be first appreciated that when the parties have determined the amount of maintenance payable, that amount of maintenance must be taken to be reasonable and accepted by the parties. From such a genesis, the 2 modification, if any, can be claimed. Once the parties agreed upon maintenance, modification, as a mater of course, cannot be applied or granted. However, a judicial notice has to be taken of the fact that prices escalate and expenses are increased. Children require special expenses to be incurred for their education at specific times. All these aspects would not be agreed upon by and between the parties when they filed Consent Terms to obtain a divorce or in an application for maintenance. 3.Hence, over a period of time and upon certain exigencies, modification of amount already agreed by and between the parties also can be applied for and granted. 4.This case is a usual case of the party having two children attending school. The children have progressed in their education. Hence, like all children, their specific expenses of standards 9 to 13 would have to be incurred by the parties. 5.The mother is earning. She is able to maintain herself. She has not applied for maintenance. She has the custody of the children. She has incurred expenses for the children. She claims those expenses in the application for modification. She has set out the 3 specific expenses incurred by her for her children who were then in standards 5 and 10. The expenses are identical for both the children in Grades 5 and 10. No particulars of the expenses are given. No substantiating documents are produced. 6.The expenses are claimed for computer education, school fees, school expenditure, medical treatment and medical bills. The school expenditure would be completely different for the children in standards 5 and 10. However, a sum of Rs.24,000/- is claimed for both children. Surprisingly, even the medical expenses are the same for both children. Medical bills have not been produced. Details of medical treatment are not given. 7.It is under these circumstances that the learned Judge was called upon to decide the application for modification of the amount of maintenance decided by the parties by consent albeit after several years when the application came to be made. 8.The learned Judge has considered that the children would be deprived of legitimate rights upon rising cost of leaving, if their maintenance amount is not increased. The learned Judge has observed that the children have to be maintained appropriately by the 4 father. The maintenance amount has been, therefore, doubled. Doubling is based upon the the amount agreed between the parties. The learned Judge has considered the earning of the father whilst doubling the amount. It is not known what was the earning of the father when the amount, by consent, was determined as the maintenance amount by the parties. 9.Upon seeing the vague application of the mother and the exercise of the Judge in granting the double amount, both the children could not be deprived of their legitimate rights and upon a premise that they have to be maintained appropriately by the father, the impugned order cannot be faulted. 10.However, it is common knowledge that the expenses increase many-fold during Grades 9 to 13. This may also include the computer expenses. Taking that into account, it would be fair and reasonable to direct the Respondent-father to share the expenses of such education with the Applicant-mother. Since no particulars at all are given, an approximate amount would have to be determined. It is seen that the mother has applied for school expenditure of Rs. 24,000/- for the daughter, who was then in Std.X. Taking that as a yardstick and accepting that as an aggregate, albeit without particulars, it would be seen 5 that whenever the son reaches that age, his expense also would be more or less the same. Further for computer education, Rs.40,000/- each are claimed without particulars. That expense cannot go on rising but nevertheless some expenditure for computer education has to be increased. No expenditure can be allowed for medical treatment since it is completely bereft of particulars. 11.The father would reasonably be expected to incur special expenses of Rs.1 Lakh for both children, based upon the expenses shown by the mother herself. In fact, it is expected that the mother would bear some of those expenses. Only the father s share is not mentioned. The total expenses are stated. Hence, the following order:- ORDER (i)The order of the learned Family Court Judge is maintained with regard to the modification of the maintenance amount from Rs.1,000/- to Rs.2,000/- per child. The father would be required to pay such maintenance amount at the rate of Rs.2,000/- per child from the date of the application by the mother i.e. 1.6.2004, until both the children attain majority. (ii)The father shall also pay a further amount of Rs.1 6 Lakh to the mother for incurring the special expenses for education for both children from Grades 9 to 13. (iii)This Court has been informed that the maintenance amount, as directed, has been paid up-to-date. The father shall pay the special expense of education of Rs.1 Lakh for both children together in 5 equal installments of Rs.20,000/- each (at the rate of Rs. 10,000/- for each child) beginning December 2009. The first amount shall be paid on or before 10th December 2009 and thereafter from January to April 2010. It shall be in addition to the amount of Rs.2,000/- per month, payable as maintenance. 12.Application disposed of accordingly. (SMT.ROSHAN DALVI, J.)