LI Network
Published on: February 4, 2024 at 11:30 IST
The Delhi High Court has ruled that an individual cannot be imprisoned for more than three months over non-payment of maintenance arrears to the spouse in subsequent execution petitions filed for recovery of maintenance accruing from the same order.
The division bench of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Neena Bansal Krishna interpreted Section 58(1) of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, emphasizing that the total civil prison period in execution of a decree in the same suit should not exceed three months.
The Court stated that even though execution petitions may be filed for realizing maintenance in installments, the arrest duration is limited to three months. The ruling came while setting aside a family Court order directing a husband’s civil imprisonment for non-payment of maintenance arrears.
The Court held that a person already imprisoned for three months under the same decree cannot be jailed again, emphasizing the importance of due process and limiting imprisonment to cases of contumacious denial of maintenance payment.
