Summarize the following court judgment. Appeal No. 434 of 1963. Appeal from the judgment and decree dated July 22	 1960	 of the Andhra Pradesh High Court in Appeal Suit No. 709 of 1954. A. Ranganadham Chetty	 A. Vedavalli and A.V. Rangam	 for the appellants. M.S.K. Sastri and M.S. Narasimhan	 for the respondents. The Judgment of the Court was delivered by Bachawat	 J. The first respondent	 Seetharamamma	 is a Brahmin woman. She was married to one Ramakrishnayya. During the life time of her husband she became the concubine of one Lingayya	 a Sudra by caste. From 1938 until the death of Lingayya in February	 1948	 she was the permanently kept concubine of Lingayya	 and lived with him. During this period and thereafter	 she preserved sexual fidelity to Lingayya. The second	 third and fourth respondents are the sons of the first respondent by Lingayya. The husband of the first respondent is still alive. The appellants are the brothers and brothers ' sons of Lingayya. Lingayya was separate in estate from his brothers and brothers ' sons. The parties are residents of Choragudi	 Bapatla	 now in Andhra Pradesh and governed by the Mitakshara school of Hindu law. In the plaint	 as originally filed	 the respondents claimed that they were exclusively entitled to the estate left by Lingayya. The Subordinate Judge and the High Court found that as the first respondent was and continued to be a married woman while she lived with Lingayya and bore him children	 she was not the lawfully wedded wife of Lingayya and the children born of the union were not his legitimate sons	 nor were they Dasiputras and as such entitled to his properties. The suit was originally dismissed by the Subordinate Judge	 but on appeal	 the High Court gave the respondents leave to amend the plaint by making suitable averments for the award of maintenance	 and remanded the suit for trial on the question of maintenance. At the subsequent trial on the amended plaint	 the Subordinate Judge decreed the respondents ' claim for maintenance and consequential 124 reliefs and awarded to them maintenance during their lifetime out of the estate of Lingayya. The Subordinate Judge passed his decree on September 20	 1954. During the pendency of the appeal preferred by the appellants before the High Court	 the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act of 1956 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) came into force. The main controversies in the appeal before the High Court were (1) whether the provisions of the Act are retrospective; and (2) whether a married woman who left her husband and lived with another as his permanently kept mistress could be regarded as an A varuddha Stree. In view of the importance of these questions	 the appeal was referred to a Full Bench of the High Court. On the first question the High Court held that the relevant provisions of the Act applied only to the estates of Hindus dying after the commencement of the Act	 and that the right of the respondents to maintenance during their lifetime under the Hindu law in force at the time of the death of Lingayya was not affected by the Act. On the second question	 the High Court held that the first respondent was an Avaruddha Stree of Lingayya	 and was entitled to maintenance from his estate	 though her husband was alive and the connection with Lingayya was adulterous. The High Court agreed with the Subordinate Judge with regard to the quantum of maintenance. On behalf of the appellants	 it is contended that the respondents are not entitled to claim any maintenance from the estate of Lingayya under the Hindu law as it stood prior to the commencement of the Act	 because (a) the first respondent is not a Dasi and the second	 third and fourth respondents are not Dasiputras of Lingayya	 and this point is concluded by the previous judgment of the High Court	 which has now become final between the parties; (b) the husband of the first husband still alive	 and the connection of the first respondent with Lingayya. was adulterous during the period of her intimacy with Lingayya and while she bore him children; (c) the first respondent being a Brahmin adulteress and Lingayya being a Sudra	 the connection was Pratiloma and illegal. Now	 under the Hindu law as it stood before the commencement of the Act	 the claim of a Dasiputra or the son of a Dasi	 that is	 a Hindu concubine in the continuous and exclusive keeping of the father rested on the express texts of the Mitakshara	 Ch. I	 s.12 V. 1	 2 and 3. In the case of Sudras	 the Dasiputra was entitled to a share of the inheritance	 and this share was given to him not merely in lieu of maintenance but in recognition of his status as a son	 see Gur Narain Das and another vs Gur Tahal Das and others(1). But the illegitimate son of a Sudra by his concubine was not entitled to a share of the inheritance if he were the offspring of an incestuous connection	 see Datti Parisi Nayudu vs Datti Bangaru Nayudu(2)	 or if at the time of his conception	 the connection was (1)[1952] S.C.R. 869	 875. (2) [1869] 4 Madras High Court Reports. 204	 125 adulterous	 see Rahi and others vs Govind Valad Teja(1)	 Narayan Bharthi vs Laving Bharthi and others(2)	 Tukaram vs Dinnkar(3). Such an illegimate son could not claim the status of a member of his father 's family and could not get a share of the inheritance as a Dasiputra under the express text of the Mitakshara. For the reason	 the previous judgment of the High Court rightly held that the second	 third and fourth respondents were not Dasiputras of Lingayya	 and could not claim the inheritance. But the point whether they are entitled to maintenance out of the estate of Lingayya is not concluded by the previous judgment. It is well recognised that independently of the express texts of the Mitakshara	 Ch. I section 12	 V. 3	 the illegitimate son of a Sudra was entitled to maintenance out of his father 's estate	 though his mother was not a Dasi in the strict sense and though he was the result of a casual or adulterous intercourse. It was not essential to his title to maintenance that he should have been born in the house of his father or of a concubine possessing the peculiar status therein. See: Muttusawmy Jagavera Yettappa Naicker vs Vencataswara Yettayya(4). The illegitimate son of a Sudra was entitled to maintenance out of his father 's estate	 though at the time of his conception his mother was a married woman	 her husband was alive and her connection with the putative father was adulterous	 see Rahi vs Govind(2)	 Viraramuthi Udayan vs Singaravelu(5)	 Subramania Mudaly vs Valu(6). According to the Mitakshara school of law	 the illegitimate son a Sudra was entitled to maintenance from his father 's estate during his lifetime. Under the Hindu law	 as it stood prior to the commencement of the Act	 the first	 second and third respondents were	 therefore	 entitled to maintenance during their lifetime	 out of the estate of Lingayya. The claim of an Avaruddha Stree or woman kept in concubinage for maintenance for her lifetime against the estate of her paramour rested on the express text of Bai Nagubai vs Bai Monghibai(1)	 where the man and the woman were Hindus and the paramour was governed by the law of the Mayuka	 Lord Darling said: "providing the concubinage be permanent	 until the death of the paramour	 and sexual fidelity to him be preserved	 the right to maintenance is established; although the concubine be not kept in the family house of the deceased. " The law of the Mitakshara is in agreement with the law of the Mayuka on this point. In the instant case	 the first respondent (1)[1875] I.L.R.1 Bom.97 (2)[1878] I.L.R.2Bom.140. (3)[1931] 33 B.L.R. 280. (4)[1868] 	220. (5)[1877] I.L.R. 1 Mad.306 (6)[1911] I.L.R. 34 Mad.68. (7)[1926] I.L.R. 50 Bom.604	614	(P.C.). 126 being continuously and exclusively in the keeping of Lingayya until his death for about 10 years	 the concubinage has been found to be permanent. She observed sexual fidelity to Lingayya during his lifetime	 and after his death has continued to preserve her qualified chastity. In Akku Pralhad vs Ganesh Pralhad(1)	 a Full Bench of the Bombay High Court held that a married woman who left her husband and lived with her paramour as his permanently kept mistress could claim the status of an Avaruddha Stree by remaining faithful to her paramour	 though the connection was adulterous	 and was entitled to maintenance from the estate of the paramour so long as she preserved her sexual fidelity to him. This Full Bench decision overruled the decision in Anandilal Bhagchand vs Chandrabai(2)and followed the earlier decisions in Khemkore vs Umiashankar(3)	 and Bingareddi vs Lakshmawa(1). The decision in Akku Pralhad vs Ganesh Pralhad(1) has been the subject of strong criticism in Mayne 's Hindu law and Usage	 11th Edn.	 article 683	 p. 816 edited by Sri N. Chandrasekhara Aiyar and in a learned article in (1946) 1 M.L.J.	 Notes of Indian cases	 p. 1	 but the Full Bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court in the instant case found themselves in complete agreement with the Bombay decision. We are of the opinion that the Bombay decision lays down the correct law. Avaruddha Stree	 as understood by Vijnaneswara	 includes a Swairini or adulteress kept in concubinage. While dealing with the assets of a deceased Hindu not liable to partition	 Mitakshara	 Ch. I	 section 4	 V. 22	 he says	 "Swairini and others who are Avaruddha by the father	 though even in number	 should not be divided among the sons". Colebrooke 's translation of the passage is as follows: "But women (adulteresses and others) kept in concubinage by the father must not be shared by the sons	 though equal in number". In his commentary on Yajnavalkya 's Verse 290 in Vyavahara Adhyaya	 Ch. 24 on Stree Sangrahana	 Vijnaneswara	 citing Manu	 explains Swairini as a woman who abandons her own husband and goes to another man of her own Varna out of love for him. Thus	 a Swairini and other adulteress kept in concubinage could claim the status of an Avaruddha Stree. The connection was no doubt immoral	 but concubinage itself is immoral; yet it was recognised by law for the purpose of rounding a claim for maintenance by her and her illegitimate sons. The paramour may be punishable for the offence of adultery	 but the concubine is not punishable as abettor of the offence. A concubine was not disqualified from claiming maintenance by reason of the fact that she was a Brahmin. The claim of a concubine who was a respectable woman of the Brahmin caste and (1) I.L.R. (2)I.L.R (3) [1873] 10 Biombay High Court Reports. (4)[1901] I.L. R. 127 her illegitimate sons for maintenance was allowed in Hargovind Kuari vs Dharam Singh(1). No doubt	 a Pratiloma connection is denounced by the Smriti writers and the Commentators	 and before the Hindu Marriages Validity Act	 1949 (Act XXI of 1949) Pratiloma marriages between a Sudra male and a Brahmin female were declared invalid in Bai Kashi vs Jamnadas(2) and in Ramchandra Doddappa vs Hanamnaik Dodnaik(3)	 but even those cases recognise that a Brahmin concubine in the exclusive and continuous keeping of a Sudra until his death was entitled to claim maintenance. We express no opinion on the question whether a Pratiloma marriage was valid under the old Hindu law	 but we are satisfied that the claim of the respondents for maintenance cannot be defeated on the ground that the first respondent was a Brahmin and her paramour was a Sudra. We are satisfied that the respondents were entitled to maintenance during their lives out of the estate of Lingayya under the Hindu law as it stored in 1948	 when Lingayya died	 in December 1949	 when the suit was instituted and also in 1954	 when the suit was decreed by the Subordinate Judge. The question is whether this right is taken away by the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act	 19 5 6	 which came into force during the pendency of the appeal to the High Court. The Act is intended to amend and codify the law relating to adoptions and maintenance among Hindus. Section 4 of the Act is as follows: "4. Save as otherwise expressly provided in this Act	 (a) any text	 rule or interpretation of Hindu law or any custom or usage as part of that law in force immediately before the commencement of this Act shall cease to have effect with respect to any matter for which provision is made in this Act; (b) any other law in force immediately before the commencement of this Act shall cease to apply to Hindus in so far as it is inconsistent with any of the provisions contained in this Act. " Section 21 defines "dependants" as meaning certain relatives of the deceased	 and under sub cl (viii)	 includes "his or her minor illegitimate son	 so long as he remains a minor". A concubine is not one of the persons within the definition of "dependants" given in section 21	 and an illegitimate son is not a dependant when he ceases to be a minor. Section 22 reads thus: "22. (1) Subject to the provisions of sub section (2)	 the heirs of a deceased Hindu are bound to maintain the dependants of the deceased out of the estate inherited by them from the deceased. 128 (2) Where a dependant has not obtained	 by testamentary or intestate succession	 any share in the estate of a Hindu dying after the commencement of this Act	 the dependant shall be entitled	 subject to the provision of this Act	 to maintenance from those who take the estate. (3) The liability of each of the persons who takes the estate shall be in proportion to the value of the share or part of the estate taken by him or her. (4) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub section (2) or sub section (3)	 no person who is himself or herself a dependant shall be liable to contribute to the mainten(2) or sub section (3)	 no person who is himself or herself the value of which is	 or would	 if the liability to contribute were enforced	 become less than what would be awarded to him or her by way of maintenance under this Act. " Sub section (1) of section 22 imposes upon the heirs of a deceased Hindu the liability to maintain the dependants of the deceased defined in section 21 out of the estate inherited by them from the deceased. but this liability is subject to the provisions of sub section (2)	 under which only a dependant who has not obtained by testamentary or intestate succession	 any share in the estate of a Hindu dying after the commencement of the Act is entitled	 subject to the provisions of the Act	 to maintenance. Specific provision is thus made in section 22 with regard to maintenance of the dependants defined in section 21 out of the estate of the deceased Hindu	 and in view of section 4	 the Hindu law in force immediately before the commencement of the Act ceases to have effect after the commencement of the Act with respect to matters for which provision is so made. In terms	 sections 21 and 22 are prospective. Where the Act is intended to be retrospective	 it expressly says so. Thus	 section 18 provides for maintenance of a Hindu wife	 whether married before or after the commencement of the Act	 by her husband	 section 19 provides for the maintenance of a Hindu wife	 whether married before or after the commencement of the Act	 by her father in law	 after the death of her husband	 and section 25 provides for alteration of the amount of maintenance whether fixed by a decree of Court or by agreement either before or after the commencement of the Act. Now	 before the Act came into force	 rights of maintenance out of the estate of a Hindu dying before the commencement of the Act were acquired	 and the corresponding liability to pay the maintenance was incurred under the Hindu law in force at the time of his death. It is a well recognised rule that a statute should be interpreted	 if possible	 so as to respect vested rights. See Craies on Statute Law	 6th Edn. (1963)	 p. 397. We think that sections 21 and 22 read with section 4 do not destroy or affect any right of maintenance out of the estate 129 of a deceased Hindu vested on his death before the commencement of the Act under the Hindu law in force at the time of his death. On the death of Lingayya	 the first respondent as his concubine and the second	 third and fourth respondents as her illegitimate sons had a vested right of maintenance during their lives out of the estate of Lingayya. This right and the corresponding liability of the appellants to pay maintenance are not affected by sections 21 and 22 of the Act. The continuing claim of the respondents during their lifetime springs (out of the original right vested in them on the death of Lingayya and is not rounded on any right arising after the commencement of the Act. In section Kameswarammna vs SubramanYam(1)	 the plaintiff 's husband had died in the year 1916	 and the plaintiff had entered into a compromise in 1924 fixing her maintenance at Rs. 240 per year and providing that the rate of maintenance shall not be increased or reduced. The question arose whether	 in spite of this agreement	 the plaintiff could claim increased maintenance in view of section 25 of the . It was held that	 in spite of the aforesaid term of the compromise	 she was entitled to claim increased maintenance under section 25. This conclusion follows from the plain words of section 25	 under which the amount of maintenance	 whether fixed by decree or agreement either before or after the commencement of the Act	 may be altered subsequently. The decision was therefore	 plainly right. No doubt	 there are broad observations in that case to the effect that the right to maintenance is a recurring right and the liability to maintenance after the Act came into force is imposed by section 22	 and there is no reason to exclude widows of persons who died before the Act from the operation of section 22. Those observations were not necessary for the purpose of that case	 because the widow in that case was clearly entitled to. maintenance from the estate of her deceased husband dying in 1916 under the Hindu law	 as it stood then	independently of sections 21 and 22 of the Act	 and in spite of the compromise timing the maintenance before the commencement of the Act	 the widow could in view of section 25 claim alteration of the amount of the maintenance. The decision cannot be regarded as an authority for the proposition that sections 21 and 22 of the Act affect rights already vested before the commencement of the Act. We therefore	 hold that the claim of the respondents to main tenance for their lives is not affected by the Act. We see no reason to interfere with the concurrent finding of Courts below with regard to the quantum of maintenance. In the result	 the appeal is dismissed with costs. Appeal dismissed.

The first respondent S	 a Brahmin woman married to R	 during the lifetime of her husband became the permanently kept concubine of L	 a sudra by caste. The other three respondents were the sons of S & L. After L 's death	 in a suit filed by the respondent against L 's brother and their sons (the appellants here)	 the sub judge	 by a decree dated September 20	 1954	 awarded maintenance to the respondents during their life time out of the estate of L and this award was upheld on appeal by the High Court. During the pendency of the appeal before the High Court	 the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act of 1956 came into force and upon a contention being raised before it	 the High Court held that the relevant provisions of the new Act did not have retrospective effect so as to adversely affect the rights of maintenance available to the respondents under the Hindu Law before the Act came into force. In appeal before the Supreme Court	 it was contended on behalf the appellants (1)	 that the respondents were not entitled to claim any maintenance from the estate of L under the Hindu Law in force before the 1956 Act because (a) the first respondent was not a Dasi and the other three respondents were not Dasiputras of L; (b) the husband of the first respondent having been alive	 her connection with L was adulterous and she could not therefore be entitled to maintenance as an Avaruddha Stree and (c) the first responden being a Brahmin adulteress and L being a Sudra. the connection was Pratiloma and illegal. (2) That in any event	 by virtue of section 4 of the 1956 Act	 the Hindu Law prior to that Act ceased. to have effect with respect to matters for which provision was made in the Act and that provision for maintenance	 etc. had in fact been made in sections 21 and 22 of the Act. HELD ': (1) The respondents were entitled to maintenance during their lives out of the estate of L under the Hindu Law as it stood before the 1956 Act came into force. [127 D] (a) It was well recognised that independently of the express texts of the Mitakshara	 whereby	 in the case of Sudras the Dasiputra was entitled to a share of the inheritance	 the illegitimate son of a Sudra was entitled to maintenance out of his father 's estate though his mother was not a Dasi in the strict sense and though he was the result of a casual or adulterous relationship. [125 C] Mitakshara Ch. I	 section 12 V. 1	 2 and 3 referred to; Case law reviewed. (b) Under Mitakshara law. a married woman who left her husband and lived with her paramour as his permanently kept mistress could claim the status of an Avaruddha Stree by remaining faithful 123 to her paramour	 even though the connection was adulterous	 and she was entitled to maintenance from the estate of the paramour so long as she preserved sexual fidelity to him. [125 H	 126 B] Akku Prahlad vs Ganesh Prahlad I.L.R. affirmed Case law reviewed. (c) A Brahmin concubine in the exclusive and continuous keeping of a Sudra until his death was entitled to claim maintenance.[127 B] Case law referred to. Sections 21 and 22 are in terms prospective and these sections read with section 4 did not destroy or affect the right of maintenance of the respondents which vested in them on the death of L and before the commencement of the 1956 Act. A] section Kameshwaramma vs Subramanyam A.I.R. 1959 Andhra Pradesh 269; distinguished.