Niharika Ghosh Vs. Shankar Ghosh
In the case at hand, The parties got married on 21st April 2014, but due to differences they weren’t able to maintain their matrimonial relationship which lead to filing of divorce petition under Section 13(1)(ia) of HMA, 1955, by the respondent/husband.
The appellant/wife resigned her job after filing of the divorce petition. The matter was settled and the petition was withdrawn on 6th February 2016. However, on 6th may 2016, a police complaint was filed by the wife against her husband.
The husband filed a 2nd petition under section 13(1)(ia) on 24th May of the same year, while the wife filed an application under section 24 of HMA which was dismissed. Aggrieved, she filed an appeal for re-adjudication. The family court considered this matter afresh.
The learned family court noted that the wife is highly qualified and was even working before the divorce petition and declined to grant her any maintenance through order dated 3rd September 2019.
The appellant/wife has challenged the order dated 3rd September 2019 of learned family court before the High Court of Delhi dismissing her application for maintenance under section 24 of HMA.
After the submissions, the High Court noted that not only was the wife highly qualified, she was also working at the time of her marriage which makes it clear that she has an earning capacity. The wife also didn’t disclose the fact that she was working at the time during the trial.
The court relied on the judgement Mamta Jaiswal vs. Rajesh Jaiswal 2000 (3) MPLJ 100 to observe that section 24 of HMA has been enacted in order to support either spouse who is incapable of earning himself/herself in spite of sincere effort. It’s not meant to create an army of idle people waiting for the courts to give them monetary awards on the expense of the other spouse.
Further reliance was placed on case of Rupali Gupta vs. Rajat Gupta 2016 (234)
DLT 693 which deprecated the claim of maintenance under Section 24 of HMA by a well-qualified spouse.
The High Court of Delhi held that not only was the wife highly qualified and had an earning capacity, but she had also been earning and hasn’t disclosed her true income. Such a person cannot be held entitled to maintenance and the pending application therefore stands disposed off.
Inputs and Research by: Triaksh Kapoor
Source: https://www.scconline.com/blog/post/2023/09/15/delhi-hc-denies-maintenance-to-woman-who-did-not-disclose-her-true-income-legal-news/