High Court of Chhattisgarh
Case Details
1 2025:CGHC:27101 NAFR ALOK SHARMA Digitally signed by ALOK SHARMA Date: 2025.06.27 18:24:03 +0530 HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR CONT No. 845 of 2025 1 - Smt. Shikha Kumar Wd/o Late Arial I. Kumar Aged About 53 Years Occupation- House Wife, R/o L.I.G.- 606, Sector- 4, Housing Board Colony, Saddu, Raipur, Chhattisgarh. ... Petitioner(s) versus
Legal Reasoning
1 - Shri Vivek Tiwari First Additional Principal Judge, Family Court, Raipur, Chhattisgarh.
Legal Reasoning
2 - Smt. Rahbariya I. Kumar W/o Late Ismail Hazari Kumar R/o Cristian Colony, Sarvmangla Road, Korba, Chhattisgarh. 3 - Shri Ervin Enesh Kumar S/o Late Ismail Hazari Kumar R/o Cristian Colony, Sarvmangla Road, Korba, Chhattisgarh. 4 - Shri Lidiya Kumar S/o Late Ismail Hazari Kumar R/o Cristian Colony, Sarvmangla Road, Korba, Chhattisgarh 5 - Sushri Minakshi Kumar S/o Late Ismail Hazari Kumar R/o Cristian Colony, Sarvmangla Road, Korba, Chhattisgarh ... Respondent(s) For Petitioner(s) : Ms. Shikha Kumar, Petitioner in Person. For Respondent(s) : None Hon'ble Shri Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal Order on Board 23/06/2025 1. The petitioner has filed the present contempt petition stating willful violation 2 of the order dated 07-11-2016 passed by the Hon’ble Division Bench of this Court in F.A.M. No. 103/2015, whereby the appeal filed by the present
Decision
respondent Nos. 2 to 4 has been disposed of and the matter was remitted back to the learned Court/Executing Court to proceed to recover the amount of permanent alimony from the movable and immovable assets of the deceased. It is also alleged in the petition that the learned Executing Court has not passed the order in compliance with the order dated 07-11-2016 passed by the Hon’ble Division Bench in F.A.M. No. 103/2015. 2. The facts in brief, as emerge from the pleading and documents in the contempt petition, are that in the proceeding under Section 10(vii) of the Divorce Act, 1869, bearing Civil suit No. 133-A/2007, the application for the grant of divorce filed by the petitioner was allowed vide judgment and decree dated 20-06-2008, decree of divorce was granted and she was held entitled for an amount of Rs. 2000/- per month as permanent alimony. The husband of the petitioner died on 04-12-2012, and therefore, the order of permanent alimony could not be complied with. The petitioner moved an application for the execution of the decree against the legal heirs of the husband, who were in possession of the properties belonging to the deceased. In the execution proceeding, the learned Family Court, vide order dated 03-07-2015, held that the present contempt petitioner is entitled to recover the maintenance amount from the present respondent Nos. 2 to 4 till her lifetime. 3. The order dated 03-07-2015 was challenged by the present respondent Nos. 2 to 4 before the Hon’ble Division Bench of this court in F.A.M. No. 103/2015, which was disposed of vide order dated 07-11-2016 holding in para 8 that:- “For the foregoing, we are of the considered opinion that the matter deserves to be remitted back to the Family Court/Executing Court to proceed to recover the amount of 3 permanent alimony from the movable and immovable assets belonging to the deceased. It will remain open for the respondent wife to apply for enhancement of the amount, if she so desires, as also for prosecuting against any of the appellants who, according to the respondent wife, have submitted false affidavit or have tried to mislead the Court.” 4. On 25-07-2023, the petitioner filed an application before the learned Family Court for execution of the original order dated 05-12-2016 and also to comply with the order dated 07-11-2016 passed by Hon’ble Division Bench of this Court in F.A.M. No. 103/2015, which has been registered as Ex. Case No. 17/2023. In the said execution case, the learned Family Court calculated the arrears of maintenance amount at the rate of Rs. 2,000/- per month, from 08- 03-2016 till date and passed the order on 03-04-2025 for recovery of Rs. 2,16,000/- from the movable and immovable properties of the respondent Nos. 2 to 4 and issued an attachment warrant against them. Feeling aggrieved by the order dated 03-04-2024 passed by learned Family Court, the petitioner has filed the present contempt petition claiming that the learned Family court has not acted in compliance of the order passed by Hon’ble Division Bench of this Court in F.A.M. No. 103/2015 and issued attachment warrant against the movable and immovable properties of the respondent Nos. 2 to 4 only for Rs. 2,16,000/- , which is the willful violation of the order dated 07-11-2016 passed in F.A.M. 103/2015 and the respondents be punished for contempt of court. She relied on the judgment passed by Hon’ble Supreme Court in the matter of “Ramankutti Guptan v. Avara”, 1994 (2) MPWN 12 and “Shivshankar Gurgar v. Dilip”, 2014 (2) SCC 465. 5. The petitioner appeared in person and submitted that the petitioner is entitled to recover the maintenance amount at the rate of Rs. 43,040/- per month and the learned Family Court has not made any efforts to execute the order. The impugned order is passed in willful violation of the order dated 07-11-2016, and the same has not been complied with in true letter and spirit. She would 6. 7. 4 also submit that in paragraphs 8 and 9 of the order dated 07-11-2016, there is a direction to recover the amount of permanent alimony and the petitioner has filed an application on 05-06-2015 for grant of Rs. 43,040/- per month towards maintenance, which was registered as MJC No. 131/2015 in which the amount was enhanced and the enhanced amount should be recovered, but the respondents have not considered the same and granted Rs. 2,000/- per month as per the order dated 07-11-2016 passed in F.A.M. No. 103/2015. The authorities concerned have committed willful violation of the order passed by the Hon’ble Division Bench of this court, and therefore, the respondents are liable to be prosecuted and punished for the same. I have heard the petitioner in person and perused the documents annexed with the petition. When a specific query was made from the petitioner in person, as to whether any order is passed in her application for enhancement of the maintenance amount filed on 05-06-2015 (MJC No. 131/2015), she could not satisfy as to any order of enhancement of the maintenance amount. No order or document is filed in the petition that entitles her to recover a higher amount than the amount of Rs. 2000/- per month as per the judgment and decree dated 20-06-2008 passed by the learned Family Court, Raipur, in Civil suit No. 133-A/2007, and order dated 03-07-2015 passed by the executing court. The learned Family Court has also observed in its order that when they asked the petitioner about the enhancement of the maintenance amount, she only said that the amount is enhanced. The Hon’ble Division Bench of this court has also given liberty to the petitioner to apply for enhancement of the maintenance amount, if she so desires, but there is no order produced by the petitioner that the maintenance amount has been enhanced by the order of the court. The learned Family Court has also perused the original record of the case and has passed the order on 03-04-2025, considering that there are 5 no documents on record with respect to the enhancement of the maintenance amount. The judgment cited by the petitioner is also on a different consideration, and therefore, no benefit can be extended to the petitioner by the same. 8. Considering the facts and circumstances of the case and also the documents annexed with the petition, further, from the order passed by the learned Family Court, this court is of the opinion that there is no willful violation of any order passed by the Hon’ble Division Bench of this court and the learned Family Court has passed the order dated 03-04-2025 based on the record available to him. 9. Accordingly, the present contempt petition is dismissed. Alok Sd/- (Ravindra Kumar Agrawal) Judge