Maintenance--Divorce on Desertion--It Does Not Bar Divorced Wife From Claiming Maintenance Under Section 144 BNSS
A decree of divorce granted on the ground of desertion does not, by itself, bar a divorced wife from claiming post-divorce maintenance under Section 125 CrPC or Section 144 BNSS. The definition of "wife" under these provisions expressly includes a divorced woman who has not remarried. The bar under Section 125(4) CrPC operates independently and cannot be invoked merely on the basis of a desertion finding. Further, an incidental observation by a High Court regarding permanent alimony does not automatically extinguish a subsisting maintenance order; such disputes must be adjudicated by the competent court under Section 127 CrPC or Section 146 BNSS.
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