IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Civil Revision No.3769 of 2001 (O&M) Date of decision: 05.08.2009 Harjeet Kaur ....Petitioner versus Jaswinder Singh ...Respondent CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE K.KANNAN Present: Mr. Ruminderjit Singh, Advocate, for Mr. R.P.Dhir, Advocate, for the petitioner. None for the respondent. --- 1. Whether reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment ? 2. To be referred to the reporters or not ? 3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the digest ? K.Kannan, J.(Oral) 1. The civil revision is against the award of interim maintenance @ Rs.2,000/- per month in matrimonial proceedings initiated by the wife against her husband. It was brought out through evidence at the interlocutory stage that the husband was maintaining the children and the wife was living alone. The wife claimed that at every hearing when she had to come from her village to the Court at Hoshiarpur, she required an escort and that every visit to the Court would cost Rs.1,000/-. The respondent contended that he was hard put to maintain large family of his parents and also he had to incur heavy medical expenses for his father running to more than Rs.2 lakhs. Civil Revision No.3769 of 2001 - 2 - 2. The trial Court found that he was a qualified medical practioneer, had two shops on the GT Road and he was also running a PCO and a school, as reasons to assess that the income of the respondent could not be less than Rs.10,000/- per month and granted Rs.2,000/- as pendente lite maintenance and Rs.5,000/- as litigation expenses. 3. The learned counsel appearing for the petitioner is not in a position to state whether his case is still pending or whether there has been any changes circumstances. The case is of the year 2000 and the order impugned was one passed in the year 2001. I take judicial note of the fact that the cost of living has increased and the income of the husband ought to have also over a period of time increased. The award of Rs.2,000/- as interim maintenance under the present circumstances, may not be just or proper, having due regard to the status, income earning capacity and the reasonable wants of wife. The award of maintenance is increased to Rs.3,500/-, which shall be effective from the date of this order and in the interregnum from the date when the order was passed on 23.12.2000 to this date, the rate of maintenance shall be an additional sum of Rs.500/- per month and the same shall also be paid by the husband as arrear of maintenance. 4. The order of the Labour Court is modified and the rate of maintenance is increased as above. The Civil Revision is disposed of in the above terms. No costs. (K.KANNAN) JUDGE 05.08.2009 sanjeev