Brand of mobile, wrist watch, pen, wages of maid, expenditure incurred on functions & festivals are among a long list of details which a husband & wife, embroiled in matrimonial dispute, will now have to disclose in the affidavits to be placed before the courts to determine their true income.
The directive came from the Delhi HC which said on Thursday that a detailed affidavit of the assets, income & expenditure of both the spouses is necessary to determine their true income & to fix maintenance, permanent alimony & right in the joint properties.
Justice JR Midha, who was of the view that matrimonial jurisdiction deserves special attention & maintenance applications should be decided expeditiously, asked the subordinate courts to expedite the maintenance proceedings & make an endeavour to decide them within the prescribed time.
"It is the duty of the court to ascertain the true income of the parties & then pass the appropriate order relating to maintenance. Truth is the foundation of justice. Dispensation of justice, based on truth, is an essential feature in the justice delivery system. People would have faith in courts when truth alone triumphs. Justice based on truth would establish peace in the society, the HC said in its 79-page judgement.
The court said it was of the view that the mandatory filing of the affidavit of assets, income & expenditure by the parties in a detailed prescribed form should be incorporated in the statutes, as in the developed countries & asked the central govt to consider the suggestion.
It appreciated the assistance rendered by senior advocate Sunil Mittal, amicus curiae Anu Narula & Law Researcher Akshay Chowdhary for extensive research on corresponding law in other countries.
The court said it has examined the formats of the affidavits of assets, income & expenditure to be filed by the parties in matrimonial litigation in the United Kingdom, United States of America, Canada, Ireland, Australia, Singapore & South Africa & has incorporated some important questions & documents in the format.
The HC had in 2015 issued directions & formulated an affidavit of assets, income & expenditure to be filed by the husband & wife at the very threshold of matrimonial litigation.
Later, the directions & format was modified by the court in May & Dec 2017. It again modified the directions & format of the affidavit in its Thursday's verdict to make them more comprehensive & useful.
As per the modified affidavit, a salaried person is required to disclose the particulars of his employment including salary, dearness allowance, commissions, bonus, perks, other benefits & income tax.
The verdict said that a self employed person has to disclose the nature of business/ profession, share, net worth, number of employees, annual turnover, gross profit, income tax & regular monthly withdrawal.
The parties are also required to disclose income from other sources, like agriculture, rent, interest on bank deposits, investments, profits on sale of assets, particulars of immovable properties, financial assets including bank accounts, DEMAT accounts, safety deposit lockers, loans, insurance policies & foreign investments.
In movable assets, they have to disclose motor vehicles, mobiles, computer, laptop, electronic gadgets, gold, silver & diamond jewellery, intangible assets & properties acquired by the family members or inheritance.
The affidavit further requires them to disclose their standard of living, credit/debit cards, membership of clubs, social media accounts, domestic helps & their wages, mode of travel in city & outside, category of hotels, hospitals for medical treatment, frequency of foreign travel, brand of mobile, wrist watch, pen, expenditure ordinarily incurred on functions, festivals & marriage of family members. They also have to disclose expenditure on housing, household &d medical, maintenance of dependents, transport, entertainment & vacations.
The HC made it clear that the courts shall ensure that the filing of affidavits by the parties is not reduced to a mere ritual or formality & if the party does not truly disclose all his/ her assets & income, the court may order interrogatories or inspection of documents.
It said the courts are at liberty to pass appropriate directions to do complete justice between the parties & in cases belonging to the lowest strata of the society or case of a litigant who is a permanently disabled/paralytic, it may dispense with the requirement of filing of the affidavit or modify the information required.
"These modified directions/guidelines shall apply to all matrimonial cases including cases under Hindu Marriage Act, Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, Section 125 CrPC, Hindu Adoption & Maintenance Act, Special Marriage Act, Indian Divorce Act, Guardians & Wards Act & Hindu Minority & Guardianship Act," the HC said.
It directed the family courts to send the list of pending maintenance cases which are more than one year old & it shall contain the name of the case, date of institution, number of hearings that have taken place & reasons for delay.
"List be prepared according to the seniority, that is, the oldest case shall be mentioned first. Principal judge, family court shall compile the lists of all family courts & send them to the Registrar General of this court by December 31 for being placed before this court," it said.
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