The Supreme Court of India said that when someone doesn’t pay court-ordered maintenance even if they face penalties it’s not a criminal case. This happened in New Delhi and it’s about what happens when people don’t follow maintenance orders from the Code of Criminal Procedure. The court explained that while there are consequences for not paying it’s different from a criminal trial.
Basically the court is saying that making someone pay what they owe is not the same as prosecuting a crime. Maintenance orders are about enforcing civil responsibilities even though the rules are part of the CrPC which also deals with criminal stuff. This decision makes it clear that not paying maintenance is not a criminal act just because there are penalties involved.
This ruling changes how these cases will be handled in India. Now courts and lawyers will know that these cases aren’t criminal. This will make sure that people who don’t pay are held responsible but it also makes sure the legal system treats these cases the right way as civil issues and not criminal ones.