The Telangana High Court underscores the indispensability of affiant submissions from both parties, delineating their respective financial positions in matters pertaining to maintenance claims. Adjudicatory orders rendered in the absence of such affidavits are susceptible to potential nullification.
“As per the directions of the Hon’ble Apex Court, while granting maintenance, the trial Court shall receive the affidavits containing assets and liabilities of both the parties and basing on the same, the trial Court shall decide whether maintenance should be awarded or not. In the present case, the trial Court did not follow the guidelines of the Hon’ble Apex Court. Therefore, the impugned order dated 11.08.2022 is liable to be set aside.”
Justice G. Anupama Chakravarty, presently presiding at the Patna High Court, adjudicated a case involving a Quash petition seeking the annulment of a trial court’s interim maintenance order valued at INR 50,000. The petitioner, the husband, disputed the veracity of his wife’s claims, contending that her role as an assistant professor established financial self-sufficiency, rendering her ineligible for maintenance.
In response, the wife proffered evidence of dowry harassment by her husband and mother-in-law, substantiating her assertions with documented financial contributions toward gold. Escalating circumstances compelled her relocation to her parental residence, prompting her application to the Trial Court for maintenance, underscoring the petitioner’s purported financial capacity as a high-ranking professional earning a monthly salary of INR 1,20,000.
Justice Chakravarty noted a procedural lapse concerning the omission of affidavits disclosing the financial assets of both parties, a requirement underscored in the Supreme Court’s pronouncement in Rajnesh v. Neha. Consequently, the High Court declared the trial court’s order null and void.
“The trial Court, after receiving the affidavits of both the parties with respect to their assets and liabilities, shall consider the said documents and pass appropriate orders within a period of one (01) month from the date of receipt of a copy of this order.”
