Patna High Court: Isolated Moral Lapses Don’t Bar Maintenance under Section 125 CrPC

The Patna High Court has held that isolated lapses or moral failings by a wife do not automatically disqualify her from claiming maintenance under Section 125 of CrPC.

The Court made this observation while dismissing a husband's claim that his wife was in an illicit relationship and that their daughter was not his biological child.

It clarified the distinction between “acts of adultery” and “living in adultery,” where only the latter disqualifies a woman from maintenance. 

Referring to Section 112 of the Evidence Act, the court held the child legitimate. The maintenance was granted to the wife and the child, and the petition was dismissed.