The Madhya Pradesh High Court has recently ruled that a woman who has lived with a man for a significant period is entitled to maintenance after separation, even if they were not legally married.
Justice JS Ahluwalia made this ruling while dismissing a petition from Shailesh Bopche, who was ordered by the trial court to pay a monthly allowance of Rs 1,500 to Anita, the woman he had lived with.
Bopche challenged the trial court’s order, arguing that Anita could not prove they were married in a temple. The trial court had found that their marriage did not occur in a temple. However, the court noted that since Anita and Bopche had a child together, she was still entitled to maintenance.
The trial court’s decision highlighted that while there was no proof of a formal marriage, the couple had lived together as husband and wife for a considerable time, and Anita had a child with Bopche. Therefore, she was entitled to maintenance.
Justice Ahluwalia upheld the trial court’s order, noting that the main argument from Bopche’s lawyer was that the application under Section 125 of the CrPC was not valid because Anita was not his legally wedded wife. Section 125 of the CrPC requires a person with sufficient means to provide maintenance to a wife who cannot support herself.
Justice Ahluwalia concluded that since Anita and Bopche had cohabited as a couple for a long time and there was no clear finding from the trial court that she was not legally married, the decision to grant maintenance was appropriate. The court affirmed that the trial court’s decision did not contain any errors.
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