Question

Period of limitation for execution of the order of maintenance is------- from the date on which it becomes due

• A. 1 year
• B. 5 years
• C. 6 years
• D. 15 years

Hint:

This one-year limitation period under Section 125(3) CrPC is a crucial procedural detail in maintenance cases. It's important to remember that it applies to each month's arrears separately.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

The key is to recognise this as a special, shorter limitation period fixed specifically for maintenance enforcement, not the general limitation period for civil decrees.

1. Locate the specific rule: The proviso to Section 125(3) CrPC requires an application to levy overdue maintenance to be made within one year from the date each amount became due, a deliberately short window meant to encourage prompt enforcement.
2. Distinguish from general limitation: Periods like 5, 6 or 15 years belong to the general scheme under the Limitation Act for various civil proceedings and decree execution, not to this specific maintenance-enforcement proviso.
3. Apply the specific over the general: Because a special, shorter period is expressly fixed for this particular application, that special period, one year, governs rather than any of the longer general-law periods.

The correct answer is 1 year.

Answer 2

It also helps to think about why the law would deliberately keep this window short, given that maintenance is meant to meet an immediate, ongoing need.

1. 1 year: Maintenance is intended to support a dependant's day-to-day needs, so the law encourages the beneficiary to pursue unpaid instalments promptly rather than letting arrears pile up for years; the one-year window under Section 125(3)'s proviso reflects this urgency.
2. 5 years: A window this long would allow arrears to accumulate substantially before enforcement is sought, working against the purpose of maintenance as a mechanism for timely support, and does not match what the CrPC actually provides for this specific proviso.
3. 6 years: Like the five-year option, this stretches the enforcement window well beyond what the urgency of maintenance payments would justify, and is not the figure the proviso uses.
4. 15 years: Such an extended period belongs to a different legal context altogether, long-term decree execution under the general law of limitation, not to the prompt, month-to-month nature of maintenance enforcement contemplated here.

Recognising the urgency behind maintenance enforcement again points to the shortest of the four options.

So, the correct answer is 1 year.