The Punjab and Haryana High Court has recently upheld the maintenance order based on the filed Income Tax Returns (ITR) and balance sheets of the family court in a revision petition filed by the assessee-husband.
This revision petition has been filed for setting aside the order dated 17.12.2022 passed by the Family Court granting interim maintenance of ₹15,000 per month to the respondent-wife and ₹12,500 per month to each of the minor children/respondents No.2 & 3, during pendency of the petition filed by them under Section 125 Cr.P.C. claiming maintenance from the petitioner-husband.
Yagsimant Attri, counsel for the petitioner has contended that the petitioner is only working as a mechanic in a firm and does not have sufficient income to pay the high amount of maintenance awarded to the respondents. Besides, he has aged parents living with him, who also need to be taken care of, and the fact has not been considered by the Family Court while awarding interim maintenance, as per the submissions of the assessee representative.
It was also submitted that the respondent-wife herself is MBA, and is earning a handsome salary of ₹50,000 per month. Therefore it was contended that she was not entitled to any maintenance by the Family Court.
The Single Bench of Punjab and Haryana High Court observed that, “The amount of interim maintenance has been granted by the Family Court by taking into account, the income tax returns filed by the petitioner as also the balance-sheets of the firm which are admittedly in his proprietorship, i.e., M/s. Surjit Diesel Service, Gandarpur, Cuttack, Orissa. It was considered that in the ‘Affidavit of Income, Assets and Expenditure’, the petitioner has himself mentioned his monthly income to be ₹1,50,000. The Family Court has also considered that the respondent wife is earning only an amount of ₹14,000 per month as admitted by her, and not ₹50,000 as alleged by the petitioner.”
It was further noted that the petitioner counsel was not in a position to point out any material on record which could indicate the respondent-wife’s income to be more than ₹14,000 per month.
It was thus held by the Punjab and Haryana High Court that the amount of interim maintenance granted by the Family Court cannot be said to be on a higher side.
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