Taking serious note of a Family Court issuing an arrest warrant against a man to recover arrears of maintenance he failed to pay to his wife, the Allahabad High Court observed that he should not be treated as a person accused of a crime.
Setting aside an order of the Aligarh Family Court, the bench of Justice Rajiv Lochan Shukla observed in its order, “A person who is liable to pay maintenance is not to be treated as a person who has committed a crime. His personal dignity and liberty cannot be trampled with by the courts in their excessive enthusiasm in enforcement of orders of maintenance, even if they come to a finding that there has been a deliberate non-payment of arrears of maintenance pursuant to an order of the court.”
“The courts must keep in mind that every individual must be treated with dignity that befits his status as a free citizen of the country. The manner in which arrest warrants are routinely issued is not only illegal but also inhumane as it tramples upon the dignity of an individual who is subjected to arrest and produced before the court as if he were accused of a crime,” the court observed further.
The plea was filed by Mohammad Shahzad to quash a September 25 order by the Additional Principal Judge, Family Court, Aligarh. The court had issued recovery/arrest warrants against the applicant to recover arrears of maintenance.
The Additional Government Advocate (AGA) submitted that the High Court, in an order passed on April 25, 2024, had granted protection to the applicant, subject to the condition that he shall pay Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000 per month to opposite parties, respectively.
The court had further directed the applicant to pay 50% of arrears of maintenance within a month, and the remaining 50% in three equal monthly installments commencing from June 25, 2024.
The AGA said it was directed that in case of default in the said payments, the Principal Judge would be at liberty to recover the arrears along with 10% interest. He stated that as the directions of the High Court have been violated, the impugned order, issuing recovery warrants against the applicant, was rightly passed.
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However, he also stated there was nothing in the HC order to indicate that the arrest of the applicant would be effected to recover the arrears of maintenance. The AGA also did not dispute the fact that no arrest warrants can be issued for recovery of arrears of maintenance.
The bench of Justice Shukla stated in the order, “This Court has observed in a number of cases that orders are being passed by Family Courts issuing warrants of arrest, along with recovery warrants, and in some cases issuing non-bailable warrants. This is clearly against specific statutory provisions and directions given by the Supreme Court in the case of Rajnesh (supra). This practice must stop and recovery of arrears of maintenance is to be made in the manner prescribed by the statute or not at all.”
The court further observed, “In the opinion of this Court, the act of issuance of arrest warrants is not merely a misinterpretation of the law laid down by the Supreme Court and statutory law itself, but is an act of overstepping its jurisdiction by the Family Court, which is absolutely illegal.”
In its order, the bench stated, “As stated above, no arrest warrant can be issued for recovery of arrears of maintenance.”
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“The matter is remitted back to the Additional Principal Judge, Family Court, Court No. 2, Aligarh, to decide the application for enforcement of the order of maintenance strictly in accordance with the statutory provisions and the directions given by the Supreme Court…,” the bench of Justice Shukla ordered.
