Justice Krishna Iyer in his judgment held that the object of maintenance laws is :
Supreme Court
“9. This provision is a measure of social justice and specially enacted to protect women and children and falls within the constitutional sweep of Article 15(3) reinforced by Article 39. We have no doubt that sections of statutes calling for construction by courts are not petrified print but vibrant words with social functions to fulfil. The brooding presence of the constitutional empathy for the weaker sections like women and children must inform interpretation if it has to have social relevance. So viewed, it is possible to be selective in picking out that interpretation out of two alternatives which advances the cause — the cause of the derelicts.”
Captain Ramesh Chander Kaushal v Mrs. Veena Kaushal & Ors., (1978) 4 SCC 70