Supreme Court Issues Guidelines On Payment Of Maintenance In Matrimonial Matters [Read Judgment]

In a significant, judgment, the Supreme Court has issued guidelines on payment of maintenance in matrimonial matters. The bench comprising Justices Indu Malhotra and R. Subhash Reddy held that maintenance in all cases will be awarded from the date of filing the application for maintenance.

"For enforcement / execution of orders of maintenance, it is directed that an order or decree of maintenance may be enforced under Section 28A of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1956; Section 20(6) of the D.V. Act; and Section 128 of Cr.P.C., as may be applicable. The order of maintenance may be enforced as a money decree of a civil court as per the provisions of the CPC, more particularly Sections 51, 55, 58, 60 r.w. Order XXI", the court held. 

On the issue of overlapping jurisdiction, the bench held thus:

(i) where successive claims for maintenance are made by a party under different statutes, the Court would consider an adjustment or setoff, of the amount awarded in the previous proceeding/s, while determining whether any further amount is to be awarded in the subsequent proceeding; (ii) it is made mandatory for the applicant to disclose the previous proceeding and the orders passed therein, in the subsequent proceeding; (iii) if the order passed in the previous proceeding/s requires any modification or variation, it would be required to be done in the same proceeding.

The court said that for payment of Interim Maintenance, the Affidavit of Disclosure of Assets and Liabilities, shall be filed by both parties in all maintenance proceedings, including pending proceedings before the concerned Family Court / District Court / Magistrates Court, as the case may be, throughout the country. The model affidavit is annexed as Enclosures I, II and III of this judgment.

Background

The bench was disposing an appeal against a judgment of Delhi High Court. In October, last year, the court had appointed Senior Advocates Gopal Sankaranarayanan and Anitha Shenoy as Amicus Curiae to assist it, in this regard. They had also submitted a report.

The appeal was against a Delhi High Court order which had upheld the order of Family Court which had directed the husband to pay interim maintenance of Rs. 15,000/- per month from 01/09/2013 to the wife and Rs. 5000 per month to child from 01/09/2013 to 31/08/2015 and thereafter to pay to the child Rs. 10,000/- per month from 01/09/2015 till further orders. The High Court had observed that, wife is also entitled to lifestyle similar to that of the husband during the pendency of the proceedings before the Family Court. To come to the conclusion that the husband is leading a luxurious lifestyle, the bench had taken note of the Facebook post showing him flaunting photographs of wildlife taken in various parts of the world, using expensive camera and lens equipments.

Case: RAJNESH vs. NEHA [Cr. A No. 730 OF 2020 ]
Coram: Justices Indu Malhotra and R. Subhash Reddy 

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