Judgment J. S. VERMA, C. J, J. ( 1 ) BOTH these appeals are under section 19 of the Family Courts Act, 1984 against the award of maintenance to a divorced wife under section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The only controversy relates to the tenability of the claim for maintenance under section 125, Cr. P. C. The material facts are only a few and are common in both the cases. ( 2 ) THE two appellants are brothers who were married to two sisters in 1967 and they lived together till 1976. Each couple has a child born during this period. In each case the wife after leaving the matrimonial home filed a petition under section 10 of the Hindu Marriage Act which was dismissed. There after, in 1979 the husband in each case filed a petition for divorce under section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act on the ground of wifes desertion. During the pendency of the divorce proceedings maintenance pendente lite was awarded to wife in each case and ultimately in 1981 a decree for divorce was passed on the ground of wifes desertion. It may be mentioned that no order for permanent alimony or maintenance under section 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act was made while disposing of the divorce petition, nor any such order under that provision has been made so far. The husband has re-married after getting the decree for divorce. The wife in each case filed an application on March 17, 1986 for grant of maintenance under section 125, Cr. P. C. which was allowed by the Family Court. In Misc. Appeal No. 2r9 of 1988 the wife has been awarded Rs. 200. 00 per month as the maintenance from the date of application, while in Misc. Appeal No. 62 of 1988 the wife has been granted maintenance Rs. 250. 00 per month from the same date. In Misc. Appeal No. 289 of 1988 Rs. 100/- has also been awarded to the child, but the same has not been assailed. The challenge in both these appeals is only to the grant of maintenance to the divorced wife under section 125, Cr. 250. 00 per month from the same date. In Misc. Appeal No. 289 of 1988 Rs. 100/- has also been awarded to the child, but the same has not been assailed. The challenge in both these appeals is only to the grant of maintenance to the divorced wife under section 125, Cr. P. C. ( 3 ) THE main argument in support of both these appeals is that the decree for divorce having been granted to the husband on the ground of wifes desertion, sub-section (4) of section 125 forbids the grant of any maintenance under section 125 Cr. P. C. since the wife had admittedly refused to live with her husband without any sufficient reason. This argument requires the construction of subsection (4) of section 125, Cr. P. C. which reads as under: No wife shall be entitled to receive an allowance from her husband under this section if she is living in adultery or if, without any sufficient reason, she refuses to live with her husband, or If they are living separately by mutual consent. Sub-section (1) of section 125 gives the power to award maintenance to the persons specified therein including the wife and clause (b) of the Explanation therein defines wife to include a woman who has been divorced by or has obtained divorce from her husband and has not remarried. There is no dispute that this definition of wife includes within its ambit the respondent in both these appeals since each of these Women though divorced by the appellant has not herself remarried. ( 4 ) THE question now is whether inspite of the entitlement for maintenance under sub section (1) of section 125 she becomes disentitled to it by virtue of sub-section (4 ). In our opinion, harmonious construction of sub section (4) with the definition of wife given in clause (b) of Explanation in sub-section (1) and the context in which sub-section (4) appears clearly indicate that sub section (4) is attracted only when the wife is ordinarily bound to live with her husband to the time of claiming maintenance and yet she refuses to live with him without any sufficient reason. In our opinion, sub-section (4) cannot apply to a situation like the present where there is no obligation on either of the divorced spouses to live with the other as a result of the decree for divorce granted prior to the making of the application for grant of maintenance. The contrary view suggested on behalf of the appellants would require the divorced wife to live with the divorced husband after the decree for divorce has been passed in order to enable her get maintenance under section 125, Cr. P. C. which could obviously not be the intention of the legislature. The fact that a divorced wife is entitled to maintenance under section 125, Cr. P. C. is beyond controversy from the definition of wife given in clause (b) of Explanation in sub-section (I) of section 125. That being so subsection (4) must be construed to be applicable only to a wife whose marriage is subsisting with her husband obliging her to ordinarily live with her husband and not to a divorced wife who is not under any such obligation. The contrary view apart from being unwarranted would also be against public policy since that would result in requiring a woman to live with a man who has ceased to be her husband. It is, therfore, clear that the requirement of living with her husband contained in subsection (4) applies to the wife only during the subsistence of the Marriage and not after the relationship ceases in as a result of divorce. ( 5 ) SUB-SECTION (5) of section 125, Cr. P. C. which enables the court to cancel the order made earlier for maintenance in the same situations which are contained in sub-section (4) also suggests that sub-sections (4) and (5) apply when the marriage is subsisting. This is evident also from the other two situations mentioned in these sub-sections. Section 127 providing for alteration of allowance on proof of change in the circumstances and as a consequence of any decision of a competent civil court or a divorce or its consequences further supports the construction we have made of subsection (4) of section 125. ( 6 ) SECTION 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act provides for grant of permanent alimony in the case of Hindus. Admittedly no such order has been made in favour of the divorced wife in both these cases. ( 6 ) SECTION 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act provides for grant of permanent alimony in the case of Hindus. Admittedly no such order has been made in favour of the divorced wife in both these cases. It is clear that on an order made under section 25 of the Hindu Marriage A-ct for permanent alimony the same can be taken into account for modification on cancellation of the order made under section 125 and resort can be had to section 127, Cr. P. C. ( 7 ) THE object of section 125, Cr. PC. is primarily to prevent vagrancy or the consequences thereof by making an order for maintenance there under straightway on the conditions specified being satisfied. As earlier pointed out a divorced wife is included within the definition of wife for the purpose of section 125, Cr. P. C. Sub-section (4) of section 125 is not attracted in the present situation for the reason already given. Accordingly, grant of the decree for divorce on the ground of desertion by the wife is immaterial since sub-section (4) is not attracted to a case of a divorced wife. The main contention urged in support of these appeals must, therefore, fail. ( 8 ) WE may refer to three S. B. decisions of Calcutta, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh High Courts in which a similar view has been taken with regard to the meaning of sub-section 4) of section 125, Cr. P. C, (Bislvanath Saha v. Sikha Saha Manglal v. Gitabai and Sadasivan Pillai v. Vijaylakshmi. No decision taking a contrary view has been cited. Reliance was placed on behalf of the appellants on David Daniel v. Mrs. Chinnamma Daniel. The case is clearly distinguishable since the refusal of the wife to live with her husband in that case was during the subsistence of the marriage and even after a decree for restitution of conjugal rights had been passed. That decision has, therefore, no application to the case of a divorced wife. ( 9 ) IT was also urged on behalf of the appellants that the divorced wife was not entitled to maintenance since she was at fault which has remained in a decree for divorce being passed on the ground of her desertion. We are unable to accept this contention for the purpose grant of maintenance under section 125, Cr. ( 9 ) IT was also urged on behalf of the appellants that the divorced wife was not entitled to maintenance since she was at fault which has remained in a decree for divorce being passed on the ground of her desertion. We are unable to accept this contention for the purpose grant of maintenance under section 125, Cr. P. C. Undoubtedly such a divorced wife is entitled even to permanent alimony under section 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act. That being so there is no reason why she can be deprived of the right to get maintenance under section 125 Cr. P. C. ( 10 ) LASTLY, it was urged that in the wifes petition filed under section 10 of the Hindu Marriage Act no interim maintenance was granted and, therefore, the principle contained in sub-section (2) of section 127. Cr. P. C. disentitled her to maintenance order section 125, Cr. P. C. It is sufficient to say that subsection (2) of section 127 has no application in the present situation. That provision applies only for cancellation or variation of the order of maintenance in consequence of any decision of a competent civil court after the maintenance has been granted. More over, maintenance pendente lite was granted in the divorce proceedings initiated by the husband. This argument has no merit and is rejected. Consequently, these appeals fail and are dismissed with cost. Counsels fee Rs. 250. 00 in each case, if certified.