Concealing Income To Avoid Paying Maintenance Or Claim Exorbitant Amount In Matrimonial Cases Is Unfortunate: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has said that it is unfortunate that in matrimonial litigations, the parties do not come out with their true income.

“Effort is always made to conceal the true income by the husband in order to avoid payment of maintenance to the wife and the child. On the other hand, effort is made by the wife to claim exorbitant amount as the income of the husband,” Justice Navin Chawla said.

The court observed that it is based on the evidence produced before it, that the court has to make an assessment of the income of the husband for determining the maintenance payable to the wife and the child.

“Some amount of guesswork is necessarily involved in such an exercise,” it said.

Justice Chawla was dealing with a husband's plea challenging a family court order directing him to pay interim maintenance of Rs.10,000 per month to the wife and Rs.12,000 per month to the minor son, from the date of filing of the application for maintenance by the wife.

The family court further directed the husband to pay future maintenance regularly from January 2022 at the said rate.

It was the husband's case that he had filed his affidavit of income disclosing that he was earning only Rs.24,000 per month but later filed another affidavit stating that his income was only Rs.14,000 per month. 

However, as per the husband, the Family Court, without any reason and only based on the conjectures and surmises, determined his income as Rs.70,000 per month, and directed him to pay maintenance amount to the wife and son.

The court said that the husband, who was present in court, was not in a position to deny that he was running a music academy and also performed across the country.

Justice Chawla rejected the husband's submission that he only earned Rs.14,000 per month from the said activities. The court said that his income was rightly determined for the interim as Rs.70,000 per month by the Family Court.

“However, the learned Family Court, while determining the maintenance payable to the respondents, has also observed that the respondent no.1 is not presently working anywhere. The said circumstance is now, admittedly, changed. This new development and effect thereof on the claim of maintenance of the respondents shall have to be considered by the learned Family Court on an appropriate application being moved by the petitioner seeking modification of the interim order,” the court said.

It disposed of the plea by directing the husband to clear all the arrears of maintenance at the rate as prescribed by the Family Court, within eight weeks.

“The petitioner shall be at liberty to file an application before the learned Family Court seeking modification of the Impugned Order determining interim maintenance based on the changed circumstance that the respondent no.1 has now admittedly started to work and earn a living. The learned Family Court shall pass appropriate orders on such application,” the court said.

Counsel for Petitioner: Ms.Anubha Dhulia and Mr.Sushil Kumar Singh, Advs

Counsel for Respondents: Mr.R.K. Chanda, Adv

Title: X v. Y

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Del) 222

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