Husband is duty bound to maintain his dependants, regardless of his job and income

Insofar as the plea of the petitioner that he has no means to pay maintenance is concerned, it would be relevant to refer to the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Sumitra Devi vs Bhikan Choudhary, reported in [1985] 1 SCC 637, wherein, it has been held as follows:

“4.Now that the matter is going back to the original Court we think it appropriate to bring it to the notice of the learned Magistrate that under Section 125 of the CrPC even an illegitimate minor child is entitled to maintenance.

    Even if the fact of marriage is discarded, the minor child being found to be an illegitimate daughter of the respondent would be entitled to maintenance.”[Para no.13]

    The Hon'ble Supreme Court in Bakulbhai and another vs Gangaram & another, reported in 1988 SCC (1) 537 has held that even an illegitimate child is entitled for maintenance and the relevant portion of the judgment reads as follows:

“The other findings of the Magistrate on the disputed question of fact were recorded after a full consideration of the evidence an should have been left undisturbed in revision. No error of law appears to have been discovered in his judgment and so the revisional courts were not justified in making a reassessment of the evidence and substitute their own views for those of the Magistrate. (See Pathumma and another v. Mahammad, [1986] 2 SCC 585). Besides holding that the respondent had married the appellant, the Magistrate categorically said that the appellant and the respondent lived together as husband and wife for a number of years and the appellant No. 2 Maroti was their child. If, as a matter of fact, a marriage although ineffective in the eye of law, took place between the appellant No. 1 and the respondent No. 1, the status of the boy must be held to be of a legitimate son on account of s. 16(1) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, which reads as follows:

"16(1). Notwithstanding that a marriage is null and void under Section 11, any child of such marriage who would have been legitimate if the marriage had been valid, shall be legitimate, whether such child is born before or after the commencement of the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Act, 1976 (68 of 1976), and whether or not a decree of nullity is granted in respect of that marriage under this Act and whether or not the marriage is held to be void otherwise than on a petition under this Act."

Does Family Court have jurisdiction in respect of dispute where marriage is not solemnized as per law

Love relationship developed between Male petitioner and female respondent belonging to different cast. They without actually performing marriage secured a false certificate from an institution indicating that they have solemnized the marriage. On the basis of such certificate they obtained marriage certificate from Municipal Corporation. After disclosure to their respective families FIR for the offences punishable under Sections 464, 465, 466, 468, 471 read with 34 of the Indian Penal Code as well as for the offence punishable under the Maharashtra Regulations of Marriage Bureau and Registration Act, 1998 came to be registered.

 Applicant-male filed petition in Family Court for seeking declaration that he is unmarried and that the marriage certificate to be null and void. The prayer is not objected by Respondent-female; still Family Court  observed that the jurisdiction of Family Court can be invoked if someone is married as per law and dismissed that petition on the ground ground that it lacks jurisdiction to entertain the petition.

Held:

   Conjoint reading of sections 7 and 8 of the Family Courts Act makes it clear that the jurisdictions covered under section 7 of the Act are excluded from the purview of jurisdiction of civil court.