[2009] 10 S.C.R. 1006

DAWALSAB '\ ...., v.

KHAJASAB (Criminal Appeal No. 1236 of 2009)

JULY 15, 2009

[ALTAMAS KABIR AND CYRIAC JOSEPH, JJ.]

) .

Family Courts Act, 1984 - ss. 7 and 8 - Petition filed by father under s. 125 CrPC for monthly maintenance from son c before Family Court, Bijapur - Son working in Syndagi - Whether the Family Court had jurisdiction to entertain the petition - Held, Yes - Syndagi also falls within Bijapur district - Under s.126(1 )(a) CrPC, jurisdiction for filing any proceeding under s. 125 would be in Bijapur itself where t D Family Court for the district is situated - Code of Criminal

Procedure, 1973 - ss. 125 and 126(1).

Appellant is the father of the respondent. He filed petition under Section 125 CrPC. for payment of monthly

E maintenance of Rs.5,000/- from the respondent on the ground that having become old and not having any source of income, he was unable to maintain himself, whereas the respondent was employed in Anjuman College, Syndagi and was well off. The petition was

F dismissed by the Family Court, Bijapur on the ground that it did not have jurisdiction to entertain the petition which ought to have been filed in the Court within whose jurisdiction, the appellant resided. The revision petition filed by appellant was dismissed by the High Court.

G In appeal to this Court, it was contended that the High Court proceeded on an erroneous basis in )._ interpreting the provisions of Section 126(1)(a) Cr.P.C. without taking note of the very initial wordings of Section 126(1) Cr.P.C. which provides that proceedings under

H 1006

DAWALSAB v. KHAJASAB & ANR. 1007

Section 125 Cr.P.C. may be taken against any person in A . l''---1 any district and qualifies clauses {a), (b) and (c) thereof.

It was submitted that in the instant case, having regard to the provisions of Sections 7 and 8 of the Family Courts Act, 1984, the only forum in which application for maintenance under Section 125 Cr.P.C. could have been B filed by the appellant was before the Family Court of the district which was situated at Bijapur and since Syndagi . '( also fell within the district of Bijapur and was subject to the jurisdiction of the Family Court at Bijapur, the petition had been rightly filed before the Family Court. It was c contended that the High Court misconstrued the provisions of Section 126(1) CrPC without taking note of the provisions of the Family Courts Act, 1984.

Allowing the appeal, the Court

D ... >f

HELD:1.1. The wordings have been interpreted by the High Court and the Family Court to mean that the petition ought to have been filed in Syndagi where the respondent was working. Both the Family Court Judge - and the High Court appear to have missed the fact that E an application under Section 125 Cr.P.C. has to be taken

~ against any person in any district where the person is.

In the instant case, Syndagi also falls within Bijapur district. Accordingly, under Section 126(1)(a) Cr.P.C., the jurisdiction for filing any proceeding under Section 125 F would be in Bijapur itself where the Family Court for the district is situated and since Syndagi is within the said district. [Para 8) [1011-B-D]

1.2. The petition had been rightly filed before the G Family Court at Bijapur, which is situated in Bijapur, since .. 1 under Section 8(b) of the Act the magistrate's jurisdiction under Chapter IX Cr.P.C. has been excluded. Reading the opening words of Section 126(1) Cr.P.C. with Section 7(2)(a) of the Family Courts Act, 1984, it is quite clear that H

A it was the Family Court at Bijapur which had the jurisdiction to entertain the petition filed by the appellant

under Section 125 Cr.P.C. [Para 9] [1012-D-E]

1.3. The orders passed by the Family Court and the

8 High Court are set aside and the matter is remanded to the Family Court at Bijapur for fresh consideration in accordance with law. [Para 10] [1012-F-G]

Vijay Kumar Prasad v. State of Bihar 2004 (5) SCC 196 and Jagir Kaur v. Jaswant Singh AIR 1963 SC 1521, referred C to.

Case Law Reference :

2004 (5) sec 196

AIR 1963 SC 1521

referred to

referred to

Para 4

Para 4

CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal No. 1236 of 2009.

From the Judgment & Order dated 12.03.2008 of the High E Court of Karnataka at Bangalore in Revision Petition (FC) No.

27 of 2007 (Crl. Misc.)

Girish Ananthamurthy and P.P. Singh for the Appellants.

Shankar Divate for the Respondent.

The order of the Court was delivered by

ALTAMAS KABIR, J. 1. Leave granted.

2. This appeal is directed against the judgment and order G dated 12th March, 2008, passed by the Karnataka High Court

) .

in Revision Petition (FC) No.27/2007 (Crl. Misc.) dismissing "" .... the same. The said revision petition had been filed against the order passed by the learned Judge, Family Court at Bijapur, on 9th February, 2007, in Crl. Misc. No.187 of 2004, dismissing H

the petition filed by the appellant under Section 125 Cr.P.C.

A •--.i

3. The appellant is the father of the respondent and had filed the aforesaid petition under Section 125 Cr.P.C. for payment of monthly maintenance of Rs.5,000/- from the respondent on the ground that having become old and not B having any source of income, he was unable to maintain himself, whereas the respondent was an employee of the

• 'i Anjuman College, Syndagi and was well off. The said petition was dismissed as indicated hereinabove.

4. In the revision filed by the appellant before the High c Court, the High Court was of the view that the learned Family Judge had not committed any error of law or material irregularity which would warrant interference with the impugned order. The High Court proceeded on the basis that the learned Family

~;-,, Judge had rightly held that it did not have jurisdiction to entertain D the petition which ought to have been filed in the Court within whose jurisdiction the appellant was resided. Reliance was placed on a decision of this Court in Vijay Kumar Prasad v.

State of Bihar [2004 (5) SCC 196], wherein, after considering the provisions of Section 125 Cr.P.C., under which the E appellants were also entitled to apply for maintenance, this

~ Court took note of the provisions of Section 126 Cr.P.C. which are also relevant for our purpose and are extracted hereinbelow

"126. Procedure - Proceedings under Section 125 may be F

taken against any person in any district -

(a) where he is, or

(b) where he or his wife rsides, or G

,_ J (c) where he last resided with his wife, or as the case ,, .

' may be, with the mother of the illegitimate child."

This Court took note of the words "resides", "is" and

' "where he last resided" with his wife. In the said decision, H

A while taking notice of another decision of this Court in the case of Jagir Kaur v. Jaswant Singh [Al R 1963 SC 1521], \. ..

this Court held that the expression "is" has to be applied to the place where the person from whom maintenance is sought is normally available and cannot be construed to

B be a mere fleeting presence.

5. Relying on the said decision, the High Court held that the appellant was not entitled to maintain the revision petition before the Family Court at Bijapur, since the respondent was •• c working in the Anjuman College at Syndagi.

6. Appearing for the appellant, Mr. Girish Ananthamurthy, learned Advocate, submitted that the High Court had proceeded on an erroneous basis in interpreting the provisions of Section 126(1 )(a) Cr.P.C. without taking note of the very initial D wordings of Section 126(1) Cr.P .C. which provides that

~ - proceedings under Section 125 Cr.P.C. may be taken against any person in any district (emphasis supplied] and qualifies clauses (a), (b) and (c) thereof. Learned counsel submitted that in the instant case having regard to the provisions of Sections

E 7 and 8 of the Family Courts Act, 1984, the only forum in which the application for maintenance under Section 125 Cr.P.C. could have been filed by the appellant was before the Family Court of the district which was situated at Bijapur. Accordingly, " since Syndagi also fell within the district of Bijapur and was

F subject to the jurisdiction of the Family Court at Bijapur, the petition had been rightly filed before the learned Judge of the Family Court. Learned counsel urged that the High Court had misconstrued the provisions of Section 126(1) Cr.P.C. without taking note of the provisions of the Family Courts Act, 1984.

7. On behalf of the respondent, Mr. Shankar Divate, learned Advocate, attempted to justify the decision of the High .._ -· Court on the same lines on which the High Court had passed its order.

8. The only question which we are called upon to consider

is whether the learned Family Judge as also the High Court A "t~ were correct in determining the question of jurisdiction on the basis of the expression used in Section 126(1)(a) Cr.P.C. without taking into consideration the provisions of Sections 7 and 8 of the Family Courts Act, 1984, or the opening words of Section 126(1) Cr.P.C. The wordings have been interpreted by B the High Court and the Family Court to mean that the petition ought to have been filed in Syndagi where the respondent (son . " of the appellant) was working. Both the learned Family Court Judge and the High Court appear to have missed the fact that an application under Section 125 Cr.P.C. has to be taken c against any person in any district where the person is. In the instant case, Syndagi also falls within Bijapur district.

Accordingly, under Section 126(1)(a) Cr.P.C., the jurisdiction for filing any proceeding under Section 125 would be in Bijapur

>'r itself where the Fami!y Court for the district is situated and since D Syndagi is within the said district. Furthermore, as far as the jurisdiction of the Family Court with regard to civil matters is concerned, the same is set out in Section 7(1) of the Family Courts Act, 1984. Sub-section (2) of Section 7 provides for the jurisdiction of the Family Courts with regard to relevant criminal E matters and reads as follows :-

"7. Jurisdiction. -

( 1) .............................................

(2) Subject to the other provisions of this Act, a Family F

Court shall also have and exercise -

(a) the Jurisdiction exercisable by a Magistrate of the first class under Chapter IX (relating to order for maintenance of wife, children and parents) of the G

-~).

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973; and

(b) such other jurisdiction as may be conferred on it by

any other enactment." - Section 8(b) of the above Act which is also relevant H