No doubt, proceedings under Section 125 Cr.P.C. are for maintenance only.
But, maintenance under Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act is considered only when some other proceedings are already pending under that Act, which may be for divorce or restitution of conjugal right, etc. Therefore, the nature of these two proceedings may not be same, though there may be some commonalities.
Likewise, proceedings under the provisions of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act are generally for some other purposes such as protection order, residence order, etc., though monetary relief can also be given to a woman under this Act.
In any case, if maintenance is being ordered under two or more of these proceedings, you can always inform the court about pendency of the proceedings for the same purpose in the other court or about any previous order already passed by another court for maintenance, and such court will in that case either not pass any separate order for maintenance or will adjust the amount of maintenance taking into consideration the maintenance already ordered in the other proceedings. Therefore, you can always point it out to the court about duplicity of the proceedings, if at all they are for the very same purpose and when the same relief is being ordered in such proceedings. In the worst scenario, you may challenge the duplicate order in the higher courts.
Dr. Ashok Dhamija is a New Delhi based Supreme Court Advocate and author of law books. Read more about him by clicking here. List of his Forum Replies. List of his other articles. List of his Quora Answers. List of his YouTube Videos.
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