Set-off against maintenance is restricted to payments made after the date of filing the application.

The applicant and respondent No. 2 married on December 11, 2000

The applicant alleged she was driven out of her matrimonial home on August 1, 2007, and subsequently resided with her parents

She initiated proceedings under Section 12 of the Domestic Violence Act, resulting in a maintenance order of ₹8,000 per month

Thereafter, she filed an application under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) on January 25, 2016

The Family Court, Ahmedabad, partly allowed the application, awarding ₹15,000 per month from the date of application

However, in Direction No. 3 of the impugned order, the Family Court granted the husband a set-off for amounts voluntarily paid prior to the filing of the application

The applicant moved the High Court to challenge the legality of this set-off

The Court primarily applied Section 125(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973

This provision stipulates that maintenance or interim maintenance and expenses of proceedings shall be payable either from the date of the order or, if so ordered, from the date of the application for maintenance

It noted that while the lower court correctly exercised its discretion under Section 125(2) CrPC to award maintenance from the date of the application (January 25, 2016), it issued a contradictory direction by allowing a set-off for payments made before that date

The Court reasoned that the date of application serves as the "crucial date" for determining entitlement and arrears

Consequently, any voluntary payments made by the husband before the proceedings were initiated cannot be adjusted against the maintenance awarded from the application date onwards

The Court clarified that the respondent is only entitled to a set-off for amounts paid subsequent to the filing of the application to prevent double recovery for the same period

It held that the Family Court erred in granting a set-off for payments made prior to the filing of the maintenance application

The Court modified the operative part of the order dated January 9, 2020, directing that respondent No. 2 is only entitled to claim a set-off for amounts paid after January 25, 2016

Rule was made absolute to this extent