: 1 : IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION NO. 4603 OF 2009 Bakul Bhagwandas Sheth ... Petitioner Vs Mrs. Mrudula Bakul Sheth ... Respondents Mr. Jayesh Bhatt for the petitioner. Mrs. S.A. Dhamale for the respondent. CORAM: S.B. MHASE & R.M. SAVANT, JJ. DATED : 31ST AUGUST, 2009. P.C.: 1. Heard. 2. The petitioner has approached this court for quashing the proceeding No.C-31 of 2006 which is pending before the Family Court at Bandra. The respondent–wife has filed the said proceeding under section 18 and 20 of the Hindu Maintenance & Adoption Act. The petitioner before us is the : 2 : husband. 2. The respondent-wife has already filed a Petition bearing No.A-1144 of 2001 for getting a decree of restitution of conjugal rights. That Petition was disposed of on 10th December, 2007, and there is a decree in favour of the respondent-wife viz. the decree for restitution of conjugal rights has been passed in favour of the wife during the pendency of the said Petition bearing No.A-1144 of 2001. The respondent-wife had preferred an application under section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act for getting interim alimony and, accordingly, interim alimony has been granted. While passing the decree, the Family Court has further directed that till the conjugal rights are restored, the respondent shall pay the maintenance granted pendente lite. 3. It is to be noted that there was an application by the wife under section 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act for permanent alimony and there is no order of permanent alimony. The said order passed on Petition No.A-1144 of 2001 has been challenged by the petitioner-husband and the Appeal is pending before this court. While the proceeding arising from the earlier Marriage Petition is pending, the wife has filed a suit under section 18 read with section 20 of the Hindu Maintenance & Adoption Act. The right to : 3 : civil maintenance and Suit or Petition for such a purpose is contemplated under the Hindu Maintenance & Adoption Act. The order which is favour of the wife as on today passed in the Marriage Petition stated above is an interim order under section 25 providing alimony and for the rights of the parties for the maintenance have not been finally adjudicated by the said authority. That is an interlocutory order under the provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act. Therefore, there is no bar for the wife to proceed for the regular decree for maintenance invoking the powers under section 18 and 20 of the Hindu Maintenance & Adoption Act. Apart from that, when the orders are passed under sections 24 and 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act, the charge cannot be kept on the property of the husband, but while a decree is passed under the Hindu Maintenance & Adoption Act, apart from the adjudication of the decree for maintenance, the property of the husband can be charged and sold in execution. Therefore, the decree which can be obtained in a Marriage Petition and the decree under the Hindu Maintenance & Adoption Act are different decrees. Thus, there are different remedies available to the respondent-wife. Therefore, only because there is an interim or interlocutory order passed in the Marriage Petition in favour of the respondent-wife and the same is in force, it cannot be said that the Petition under section 18 of the Hindu Maintenance & : 4 : Adoption Act is not tenable and requires to be dismissed. The said contention of the learned counsel for the petitioner is a misconceived concept of law. We do not find any substance in the Petition and we, therefore, feel that the Petition deserves to be rejected. 4. At this stage we clarify that if there is a decree passed in a Suit for maintenance under section 18 of the Hindu Maintenance & Adoption Act, then in those circumstances, a decree under section 18 will be enforceable and the orders which have been passed as interlocutory measures will not be enforceable. The respondent-wife will not get double maintenance under those orders. She will only be entitled to get one maintenance. With this clarification, the Petition is rejected. Sd/- Sd/- (R.M. SAVANT, J.) (S.B. MHASE, J.)