A, a minor child of 14 years of age, has got a prize of rupees one crore in a Television show namely, ‘Kaun Banega Karorpati’. Can he claim maintenance from his/her father, if the father neglects or refuses to maintain him/her?

Question: A, a minor child of 14 years of age, has got a prize of rupees one crore in a Television show namely, ‘Kaun Banega Karorpati’. Can he claim maintenance from his/her father, if the father neglects or refuses to maintain him/her?

Find the answer to the mains question only on Legal Bites. [A, a minor child of 14 years of age, has got a prize of rupees one crore in a Television show namely, ‘Kaun Banega Karorpati’. Can he claim maintenance from his/her father, if the father neglects or refuses to maintain him/her?]

Answer

Child maintenance in India is recognized under Section 125 CrPC. It has been provided that the child can claim maintenance from the father in India. This section states that a minor child is entitled to get maintenance from the father if during the divorce proceeding the custody of a child has been awarded to the mother or otherwise also.

Section 125 (1)(b) of CrPC states that a legitimate or illegitimate minor child, who is unable to maintain itself, whether married or not, is entitled to be maintained by the father.

As the object of Section 125 of the Code is mainly to prevent vagrancy, the requirement to pay maintenance should be only in respect of persons who are unable to maintain themselves. The inability of any person to maintain themselves is a condition precedent to the maintainability of their application for maintenance.

As per Section 125 of the Code, maintenance to a person can be granted he/she is unable to maintain himself/herself. Maintenance means appropriate food, clothing, and lodging.

By the phrase ‘unable to maintain herself’, it is not meant that she should be absolutely destitute and should be on the street, should beg and be in tattered clothes. The maintenance has to be determined in light of the standard of living of the person concerned.

Hence, in the present case, maintenance cannot be granted to the minor child because this section applies only when the child is unable to maintain himself/herself. Here, A has won one crore rupees in a TV show, so it cannot be said that he/she is unable to maintain himself/herself.

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