Abstract

Article 44 corresponds with Directive Principles of State Policy stating that State shall endeavour to provide for its citizens a uniform civil code (UCC) throughout the territory of India. A Uniform Civil Code means that all sections of the society irrespective of their religion shall be treated equally according to a national civil code, which shall be applicable to all uniformly. They cover areas like- Marriage, divorce, maintenance, inheritance, adoption and succession of the property. It is based on the premise that there is no connection between religion and law in modern civilization. In general term, maintenance is the amount which is paid by one person to another in their relation who is not able to maintain themselves. The word 'maintenance' is however not defined in Code of Criminal Procedure. Section 125 of CrPC deals with the order of maintenance. It is secular provision and therefore, people from all religions can claim maintenance under this section. Under section 125(3), the court can take action if the person is not complying with the order without sufficient cause. It has been provided that an arrear for one year can be recovered. On every default, the court can send the person to jail for one month if he doesn't comply with the order after the recovery warrant. According to Section 421 of Indian Penal Code, the maintenance is recoverable as fine. Also, the order of enforcement can be executed anywhere in the territory of India as per Section 128 of CrPC.

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