IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA C.R. No.746 of 2006 ASHOK KUMAR LAL @ ASHOK KUMAR @ ASHOK KR.BARNWAL Versus KUMARI JYOTI & ANR ----------- 4. 11.8.2008 Heard counsel for the petitioner. In the opinion of this Court the amount of maintenance of Rs. 2500/- per month cannot be said to be exorbitant or excessive. Such an order has been passed by the court below on the analysis of the evidence led by the parties and the conclusion arrived by the court below that the petitioner should pay a sum of Rs.2500/- for maintenance to opposite party, the wife during the pendency of the suit filed by the petitioner seeking declaration of the marriage null and void does not suffer from any material irregularity or jurisdictional error. In that view of the matter, when the petitioner has tried to put the whole matrimonial life of the opposite party in jeopardy by filing the matrimonial suit, he cannot have luxury for not paying the amount of maintenance in terms of section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act. That being so, the prayer of the petitioner that this Court 2 should continue with the interim order dated 6.9.2007 till disposal of the suit itself is fit to be rejected for the simple reason that such interim order was only for the purpose of final hearing which is being conducted now in presence of the counsel for the opposite party. The facts of this case reveal that the opposite party wife had asserted that the petitioner was maintaining not only his own conveyance and telephone but also comes from a respectable family which has a kirana business. In such a situation, the plea of the petitioner that he does not have separate independent income, will have no bearing on the issue inasmuch as the petitioner cannot disown his liability to maintain his wife during the pendency of matrimonial case. Therefore, the sum of Rs. 2500/- as directed by the court below is a correct amount which must be paid by the petitioner within one month. There is thus no merit in this application. It is, accordingly, dismissed with a direction to court below to ensure that both the arrear and current amount of 3 maintenance as directed in this impugned order must be paid by the petitioner to the opposite party within a period of one month of the receipt/production of a copy of this order. ( Mihir Kumar Jha,J.) Surendra/