Spouse Concealing True Income Cannot Benefit From It: Calcutta High Court Restores Minor Daughter's ₹9K Interim Maintenance
The Calcutta High Court has held that an earning spouse who deliberately conceals his actual income cannot be permitted to benefit from such concealment by securing a reduction in maintenance payable to his minor child.
Justice Uday Kumar made the observation while setting aside an appellate order which had reduced the interim maintenance payable to a minor daughter from ₹9,000 to ₹8,000 per month, despite recording that the child's father had failed to disclose details of his occupation and had not produced salary slips to substantiate his claim of earning only ₹15,000 per month.
The Court observed that once the appellate court had itself found that the husband had failed to disclose his true financial position, there was no justification for reducing the maintenance payable to the child in the absence of any cogent material demonstrating a deterioration in his financial circumstances.
"When an able-bodied spouse deliberately conceals his actual earnings, the evidentiary burden shifts heavily onto him under Section 106 of the Indian Evidence Act to disclose his true financial capacity," the Court observed.
The Court further held: "An appellate court cannot reward obfuscation by scaling down maintenance without supporting rationale."
The wife had initiated proceedings under Section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, and sought interim maintenance for herself and her minor daughter.
The Magistrate had awarded ₹7,000 per month to the wife and ₹9,000 per month to the daughter, taking into consideration, among other factors, material showing that the husband had previously earned 5,000 Dirhams per month while working with Etisalat Technology Services in the UAE. This translated to approximately ₹1.08 lakh in Indian currency at the relevant time.
The husband challenged the quantum of maintenance before the Sessions Court, claiming a substantially lower present income.
The appellate court noted that he had failed to disclose specific details regarding his occupation and had not produced salary slips to support his claimed monthly income of ₹15,000.
Despite this finding, the Sessions Court reduced the daughter's interim maintenance from ₹9,000 to ₹8,000 per month. The High Court found the approach legally infirm.
Justice Kumar observed that the appellate court had correctly noticed the husband's failure to disclose his financial position but had "paradoxically" reduced the maintenance payable to the daughter without identifying any material change in circumstances.
The Court held that the reduction of a minor child's maintenance without supporting reasons was inconsistent with the requirement of a reasoned judicial order.
"Reducing a minor child's sustenance without supporting reasons directly contravenes the touchstone of a reasoned judicial order," the Court held.
The High Court relied upon the Supreme Court's principles in Rajnesh v. Neha, emphasising that maintenance proceedings have a social welfare objective and that an able-bodied spouse cannot evade his obligation by withholding information regarding his actual financial capacity.
The Court accordingly held that the Sessions Judge had committed a "grave error of record and law" in interfering with the well-reasoned order of the Magistrate.
The High Court allowed the wife's revision petition and set aside the January 2, 2024 order of the Additional Sessions Judge, Paschim Medinipur.
The interim maintenance order passed by the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kharagpur, on October 29, 2022 was restored in full, thereby restoring the minor daughter's maintenance to ₹9,000 per month.
The trial court was directed to proceed expeditiously with the main maintenance proceedings after recording the oral and documentary evidence of the parties, preferably within six months from the date of communication of the High Court's order.
Case: SANJIBANI DAS SAMANTA @ SANJIBONI-VS- STATE OF WEST BENGAL & ANR.
Case No: CRR 1625 OF 2024