Akanksha Arora vs Tanay Maben

REPORTABLE

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CRIMINAL APPEAL NO(S). OF 2024 (Arising out of SLP (CRL.) NO(S). 15909 of 2023)

AKANKSHA ARORA ….APPELLANT(S)

VERSUS TANAY MABEN …RESPONDENT(S)

ORDER

1. Service of notice upon the respondent is complete, but

no one has entered appearance on his behalf.

2. Leave granted.

3. We have heard learned counsel for the appellant.

4. The appellant by means of this appeal is assailing the

judgment and order dated 21.09.2023 passed by the High

Court of Jabalpur in Miscellaneous Criminal Case No.18481

of 2022 titled as 'Akanksha Arora vs. Tanay Maben. Signature Not Verified Digitally signed by geeta ahuja Date: 2024.12.11 15:35:59 IST Reason: 1

5. It appears that the Principal Judge, Family Court vide

order dated 08.03.2022 in exercise of powers under Section

125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short 'the

CrPC') had fixed interim maintenance in favour of the

appellant.

6. Being dissatisfied with the quantum of interim

maintenance, the appellant­wife had filed a petition under

Section 482 CrPC in the High Court seeking enhancement.

The said petition has been dismissed by the High Court by

the order impugned on the ground that it is not

maintainable as the appellant­wife has a remedy of a

revision under Section 397 CrPC.

7. This Court has, in a catena of decisions, provided that

nomenclature of a petition is immaterial and for doing

substantive justice, the High Court can always convert a

petition under Section 482 CrPC to a revision under Section

397 CrPC and vice versa. The approach of the High Court in

dismissing the petition filed by the appellant under Section

482 CrPC on the hyper technical ground that she had to

avail the remedy of revision cannot be appreciated because

the same has unnecessarily compelled the appellant to

2 approach this Court by way of this appeal filed under Article

136 of the Constitution of India.

8. In Madhu Limaye v. The State of Maharashtra1,

this Court held that the label of a petition filed by an

aggrieved party is immaterial. The High Court can always

examine the controversy in an appropriate case in exercise

of its inherent powers.

9. In Prabhu Chawla v. State of Rajasthan and

Another2, this Court examined the relevant scope of Section

482 CrPC and Section 397 CrPC and held that nothing in

CrPC, not even Section 397, can affect the amplitude of the

inherent powers preserved in so many terms by the

language of Section 482 CrPC. The inherent powers should

not invade areas set apart for specific powers conferred

under CrPC but there is no total ban on the exercise of

inherent powers where abuse of process of Court or other

extraordinary situation warrants exercise of inherent

jurisdiction. The limitation is self­restraint, nothing more.

Availability of alternative remedy of criminal revision

under Section 397 CrPC, by itself, cannot be a good

1 (1977) 4 SCC 551 2 (1977) 4 SCC 551

3 ground to dismiss an application under Section 482

CrPC.

10. Viewed in light of the above precedents, we feel that

even if the High Court was of the view that the appellant

should have invoked the jurisdiction under Section 397

CrPC for seeking enhancement of interim maintenance, it

ought not to have non­suited the appellant only on the

ground of alternative remedy. The judicious approach

would have been to convert the petition under Section 482

CrPC into a revision under Section 397 CrPC and to have

decided the same as per law.

11. In view of the above, we dispose of the appeal by

setting aside the impugned order of the High Court dated

21.09.2023 and remand the matter to the High Court with

further direction to convert the petition under Section 482

CrPC as a criminal revision under Section 397 CrPC and

decide it in accordance with law after affording opportunity

of hearing to the parties.

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12. The appeal stands disposed of accordingly.

13. Pending application(s), if any, shall also stand disposed

of.

……………………….J. (PANKAJ MITHAL)

……………………….J. (SANDEEP MEHTA) NEW DELHI;

DECEMBER 04, 2024.

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