Amendment in Section 125 CrPC maintenance proceedings can record subsequent events arising during pendency of the claim.

Proceedings under Section 125 CrPC are not governed by strict pleadings, and a subsequent event arising during pendency of maintenance proceedings may be placed before the court by a separate application or by amendment of the original claim. The text applies this principle to a later alleged second marriage of the respondent, treating it as a relevant fact that could be brought on record while the maintenance matter remained pending. On that basis, refusal to permit amendment was treated as contrary to law and the amendment application as one that ought to have been allowed.

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Issues: Whether, in proceedings under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, an amendment application could be allowed to bring on record a subsequent event arising during pendency of the maintenance proceedings.

Analysis: Proceedings under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 are not governed by strict pleadings. A subsequent event arising after institution of the maintenance claim may be brought on record by a separate application or by amendment of the original application. Since the alleged second marriage of the respondent arose during pendency of the maintenance proceedings, the applicant was entitled to place that fact before the court. The principle of allowing pleadings to be amended on the basis of subsequent events was treated as applicable to such proceedings, and the refusal to permit amendment was held to be contrary to law.

Conclusion: The amendment application ought to have been allowed and the order refusing amendment was unsustainable.

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