HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE RAJA ELANGO CRIMINAL PETITION No.7529 OF 2010 ORDER: This criminal petition is filed by the petitioner-respondent, under Section 482 Cr.P.C., seeking to quash the order dated 22.07.2010 passed by the Judge, Family Court-cum-Addl. District & Sessions Judge, Nalgonda, in Crl.M.P.No.366 of 2009 in M.C.No.69 of 2008 convicting and sentencing the petitioner herein to suffer imprisonment for one month and directing that he shall be released after payment of arrears of Rs.40,000/-. Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the order passed by the learned Sessions Judge is erroneous and illegal on the following grounds: i) Under Section 125(3) Cr.P.C., if a person fails to pay arrears of maintenance, the learned Magistrate may issue a warrant for levying the amount due in the manner provided for levying fines by invoking the provisions under Section 421 Cr.P.C. Whereas, the learned Sessions Judge in this case straight away issued warrant and remanded the petitioner to judicial custody. ii) As per Section 125(3) Cr.P.C., if there is any failure to pay maintenance amount on the part of the person concerned, warrant can be issued and the person can be remanded to judicial custody only for a period of one month. In this case, in the petition filed for payment of arrears of maintenance for eight months, the learned Sessions Judge remanded the petitioner to judicial custody till payment of Rs.40,000/- which is also illegal in view of Section 125(3) Cr.P.C. This Court heard the arguments put forth by the learned counsel for the petitioner and perused the entire record. This Court is of the view that the order passed by the learned Sessions Judge is erroneous in law. When there is arrears of maintenance payable by a person, a warrant should be issued and an explanation should be called for and the said warrant should be in the manner of levying fine as per the provisions under Section 421 Cr.P.C. Hence, the present order passed by the learned Sessions Judge in remanding the petitioner at the first instance without invoking the provisions properly is liable to be set aside. Accordingly, the criminal petition is allowed and the order dated 22.07.2010 passed by the learned Sessions Judge in Crl.M.P.No.366 of 2009 in M.C.No.69 of 2008 is hereby set aside. The 1st respondent-petitioner is at liberty to file a fresh application before the Court below and the learned Sessions Judge is directed to pass appropriate orders thereon in accordance with law. The learned Sessions Judge is further directed to order release of the petitioner who was remanded to judicial custody by way of the impugned order. __________________ RAJA ELANGO, J 11th August, 2010 CBS HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE RAJA ELANGO CRIMINAL PETITION No.7529 of 2010 (Allowed) 11th August, 2010 CBS