Bombay High Court

Mukesh Popatlal Gada vs Purvi Mukesh Gada on 10 November, 2025

Author: B. P. Colabawalla

Bench: B. P. Colabawalla

2025:BHC-AS:47605-DB


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                          IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
                                  CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

                                  INTERIM APPLICATION No. 16733 of 2023
                                                WITH
                                 INTERIM APPLICATION No. 13095 OF 2023
                                                  IN
                                   FAMILY COURT APPEAL No. 39 OF 2023
                 Purvi Mukesh Gada                                       .. Applicant
                       Versus
                 Mukesh Popatlal Gada                                    .. Respondent


                 Mrs. Purvi Gada, Applicant/Wife appeared in person in IA/16733/2023
                 and Respondent in IA/13095/2023.
                 Mr. Dushyant Purekar a/w. Mr. Rajat Dedhia, Advocates for
                 Respondent/Husband in IA/16733/2023 and Applicant in
                 IA/13095/2023.


                                CORAM                   :      B. P. COLABAWALLA &
                                                               SOMASEKHAR SUNDARESAN, JJ.

                       Reserved on                      :      December 21, 2024

                       Further Reserved on              :      November 6, 2025

                       Pronounced on                    :      November 10, 2025.


                 JUDGEMENT (Per, Somasekhar Sundaresan J.) :

1. At the threshold we must mention that this case was reserved on

December 21, 2024. After the Christmas break, due to a change in

roster, this Bench did not sit in the same combination. Further, the

exigencies of work delayed pronouncing the judgement. Due to the

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aforesaid delay, and the efflux of time, the matter was kept for

directions afresh on November 6, 2025. While the written submissions

of the parties were comprehensive, the parties were asked if they wished

to make further submissions considering the time gone by. The parties

indicated that they have no further submissions to make, considering

that they had filed detailed written submissions, and submitted that

they have no objection to the judgement bring pronounced. Accordingly,

we have proceeded to pronounce judgement today.

Context and Factual Background:

2. Purvi Gada ("Purvi") and Mukesh Popatlal Gada (" Mukesh") got

married on November 16, 1997. Purvi, originally from Mumbai, moved

to Pune to live with Mukesh and his family upon marriage. The

marriage lasted 16 years, with the couple co-habiting in their

matrimonial home. Since 2013, they have lived separately. Mukesh

filed a petition for divorce in 2015, which was allowed by the Learned

Family Court, Pune, granting him a divorce on February 24, 2023

("Impugned Judgement") on the ground of cruelty, with the permanent

alimony fixed at Rs. 50,000 per month.

3. During the course of the divorce proceedings, payment of interim

maintenance had been directed, also at Rs. 50,000 per month. It is a

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matter of record that Mukesh has regularly been in arrears on payment

of the interim maintenance from time to time. Multiple applications

have been filed in the journey of this litigation, where the frequent piling

up of arrears is discernible.

4. Both parties are in appeal against the Impugned Judgement. The

Impugned Judgement has been stayed.

Contentions of the Parties:

5. This judgement deals with two competing Interim Applications

filed by the parties seeking interim relief pending hearing and final

disposal of the cross appeals. Purvi has filed Interim Application No.

16733 of 2023 ("Purvi IA") seeking enhancement of the interim

maintenance to make it commensurate with her expenses, which also

have to fend for her daughter. Mukesh has filed Interim Application No.

13095 of 2023 ("Mukesh IA") seeking cancellation of the interim

maintenance on the premise that he is not a man of means to pay Rs.

50,000 per month and that he has paid more than enough already.

6. The Purvi IA pleads that Mukesh has historically been a chronic

defaulter in payment of the interim maintenance awarded by the

Learned Family Court. It is contended that Mukesh's affidavits, meant

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to be filed in the form and substance as stipulated by the Supreme Court

in Rajnesh vs. Neha1, are blatantly false. Yet, she would contend,

without drawing any adverse inference, the Learned Family Court has

given an unreasonably low maintenance, which too has been defaulted

upon regularly. Therefore, pending the hearing and final disposal of the

appeals, Purvi has sought enhancement of monthly maintenance to Rs.

5 lakhs or such other amount as this Court would deem appropriate,

commensurate with the living expenses and maintenance of her

daughter, whose upbringing has been placed entirely on her shoulders.

7. The Mukesh IA pleads that pending hearing and final disposal of

the appeals, he be relieved of any obligation to pay any maintenance.

Mukesh would plead that he had advanced a loan of Rs. 50 lakhs to

Purvi's uncle, who was to pay him Rs. 50,000 per month, but the uncle

has stopped paying Mukesh and can be said to be paying the said sum to

Purvi. This, by implication, he would contend, absolves him of the

obligation to pay any maintenance. The Mukesh IA would admit that

Mukesh is a partner of multiple firms in the real estate business but

would contend that he has no income from them and that the business

of these firms has been depleted since the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Rajnesh vs. Neha and Anr. - (2021) 2 SCC 324

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8. Referring to the various assets found in the material on record,

Mukesh would point to some interest or the other enjoyed by others

over the same assets as held in his name, to indicate that these assets

cannot be said to be his own. Alluding to his personal Income Tax

Returns, Mukesh would contend that his income is very low and has

tapered down to barely over Rs. 6 lakhs for the Assessment Year 2022-

23. Mukesh would point to insurance policies taken by him for the

couple's children and indicate that Purvi and the daughter are

beneficiaries of his benevolence. Considering that he has paid premia

on it, he would submit that the policy maturity value would be owed to

him by them.

9. Mukesh would point to Purvi having sufficient income to support

herself by working as a home tutor. The Mukesh IA would contend that

Purvi runs a plant nursery business. He would total up the amounts

paid during the pendency of litigation at Rs. 21.65 lakhs to claim that

this is more than enough money that he may be called upon to pay. In a

nutshell, Mukesh's contentions can be summarised as him being a

person who does not have income to support himself, much less pay the

alimony granted to Purvi, who on the other hand, is purportedly well

resourced to fend for herself. Therefore, he would contend that this

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Court should bear these facets in mind, to stay the payment of any

alimony to Purvi.

Analysis and Findings:

10. We have heard Purvi as a party in person and found her to be

capable of pleading her case well and methodically explaining the

material on record meticulously collated by her. We have also heard

Mr. Dushyant Purekar, Learned Advocate for Mukesh, who has

represented his clients' interests well, and to the best of his ability has

treated Purvi with dignity and grace during the hearings.

11. With their assistance we have examined the material on record.

By consent of the parties, we heard both the interim applications

together, since they were both placed in diametrically opposite

directions on an assessment of the very same issues and facts.

12. It is evident that the maintenance claimed during the Family

Court proceedings entailed a claim for maintenance by Purvi under the

Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956 (" HAMA"). In the final

disposal, rejecting that maintenance was payable under the HAMA, the

Learned Family Court granted the divorce to Mukesh and provided for

continuing the same interim maintenance of Rs. 50,000 per month, but

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now under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 ("HMA").

13. At the very outset, we make it clear that all observations made in

this judgement are prima facie in nature as are the conclusions drawn

on a prima facie basis, based on how the material on record speaks to

the credibility of the contentions presented by the parties. The cross-

appeals would be heard in due course, but the core issue is what

appropriate arrangement, if any, would be dispositive of the captioned

interim applications filed by the respective parties.

14. We have given our anxious consideration as to whether the

Learned Family Court has, prima facie, had regard to the well-known

principles of law governing the grant of alimony and whether it has

factored in the evident lifestyles of the respective parties to see if the

alimony is commensurate with what would be appropriate to fend for

the maintenance of a wife who has invested 16 years of her prime life to

her matrimonial family.

15. Each party presented a compilation of documents and relied on

them for their respective contentions - the need to enhance the

maintenance as an interim measure, canvassed by Purvi; and the need

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to do away with any payment whatsoever as an interim measure

canvassed by Mukesh. These compilations were taken on record and

were examined with their assistance.

Assessment of Marital Standard of Living:

16. The Gada Family of which Mukesh is an integral member, is

indeed extremely well endowed. They have business interests ranging

from real estate development to financial services. The Gada Family

(they are also Shahs - in fact, one of their firms, G&S Associates, is a

short form for Gada and Shah) is a business family that owns and runs

composite family businesses presided over by Mukesh's father Popatlal

Gada ("Popatlal"). Mukesh and his siblings, Kishore Gada ("Kishore")

and Nilesh Gada ("Nilesh"), along with Popatlal, run the family business

as one unit, through a web of partnership firms, and bodies corporate

including limited liability partnerships and companies, with Mukesh

holding himself out as the "torchbearer" of these businesses.

17. What is writ large from the material on record is that like with any

Indian marriage, while Purvi married Mukesh, she married into

Mukesh's family. For purposes of appreciating the standard of living

during the matrimonial life, the lifestyle and basic comforts to which she

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was entitled for the 16 years of matrimony, were of the standards

available to her as Mukesh's wife, as indeed Popatlal's daughter-in-law,

and sister-in-law of Kishore and Nilesh.

18. In family businesses, particularly in India, business operations

are run by the male family members working as a collective unit to reap

benefits from their professional activity. In this endeavour, their

personal lives are supported and underwritten by their spouses, who

may marginally get some role like a hobby rather than as a professional

employment in these businesses. It is the benefits enjoyed in the course

of running of such businesses by such male family members that fund

their social and family lives and lifestyles. Therefore, when considering

the financial capacity of such a male family member and indeed, the

standard of living and personal dignity that such family member's

spouse would get over a decade and a half of married life, it must be

remembered that what makes it to the personal income-tax returns of

the specific family member as "taxable income" is not the sole

determinant of what is earned and enjoyed by such family member.

19. The allocation of income, profitability and net worth among the

constituents of a family is a measure that families can entirely arrange,

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manage and contrive. Therefore, when one examines cases where a

party to a divorce litigation is a male member of a family running a

composite family business, the approach has to also factor in the

aforesaid facet, in sharp distinction to the approach in divorce cases

involving, say, an employed professional whose day job would fund or

part-fund the married couple's lifestyle, standard of living and social

standing.

20. Spouses, in particular housewives, who marry a constituent of a

family, marry into the family. When that family runs a family business,

the intricately and inextricably interwoven nature of the husband's

financial interests with the wider interests of the family cannot be lost

sight of. Courts would need to look at the de facto position as to how a

husband was financing his lifestyle during marriage and juxtapose that

with how he is financing his lifestyle after marriage, and then draw

inferences. A blinkered focus on the seemingly de jure position by

looking only at such assets as the family has chosen to officially leave in

the hands of the husband's Income Tax balance sheet, or just the

component of the family income that the family has chosen to attribute

to such family member, would be quite inappropriate, misleading and

unjust.

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Unclean Hands and Lack of Credibility:

21. Bearing that perspective in mind, we are unable to find much

credibility in Mukesh's attempt to bring the focus of this Court solely to

his Income Tax Returns and the assets claimed to be under his direct

ownership. The contention that material assets are co-owned with other

members of the family pales in relevance when it comes to such assets

being indicative of his wealth and the enjoyment of wealth that his

spouse would have had over 16 years of marriage. When looking at the

social and family life of a litigating party who is seeking to be relieved of

his obligation to pay any maintenance whatsoever pending hearing and

final disposal of appeal proceedings, it would not be appropriate to

ignore other attendant circumstances that speak to his social standing,

standard of living, and ability to pay for his lifestyle.

22. A bare reading of Mukesh's pleadings would suggest that he lives

a life of penury and a hand-to-mouth existence, being unable to afford

paying even a bare sum of Rs. 50,000 per month. Such pleadings on

oath, erode the credibility of his contentions. By pointing to his Income

Tax Returns to show taxable income of just Rs. 6 lakhs annually,

Mukesh would have the Court believe that his expenses and lifestyle are

financed by a sum of just Rs. 50,000 per month, leaving him with

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nothing to pay Purvi under the Impugned Judgement. On the facet of it,

the import is farcical.

23. Mukesh's pleadings are also laced with a deep sense of

entitlement and transactional character, rather than adopting the

approach of reasonably discharging the responsibility of a husband to

pay maintenance to a wife he seeks to divorce, in accordance with the

law. That Mukesh claims a set-off of monies purported to be owed to

him by Purvi's uncle against the maintenance that he is dutybound by

law to pay to Purvi upon divorce, is indicative of this sense of

entitlement and transactional approach. That apart, Mukesh has

evidently been defaulting in payment of even interim maintenance

amounts, necessitating execution proceedings. Yet, the claim that he

has paid an aggregate sum of Rs. 21.65 lakhs during the course of the

litigation, indicating that he has paid enough and needs to pay nothing

more, reeks of the sense of entitlement and determination not to pay a

rupee to a wife of 16 years, only because she chose to leave the

matrimonial home when they got estranged in 2013.

24. We are unable to find much force in Mukesh's submissions about

the need to relieve him of the very basic and low-end liability of paying

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Rs. 50,000 per month, as directed by the Learned Family Court. As

would be seen later in this judgement, Mukesh is a man of considerable

means, and therefore his submissions on oath that he is leading a hand-

to-mouth existence, not only erodes his credibility, but also underlines

the fact that he has not come clean on important factual aspects of what

needs consideration in these two Interim Applications. If Mukesh's

contentions were right, it would be a miracle that he has survived, quite

apart from having financially supported his son and brought him up

(the son lives with Mukesh). It would be an even bigger miracle that he

would have ever had the means to lend Purvi's uncle a loan of Rs. 50

lakhs. As regards financing the son, Mukesh would contend that

merely because his family may support him and his son, it does not

indicate his own ability to pay Purvi and his daughter (who lives with

Purvi) for their maintenance.

25. Countering Mukesh's submissions, Purvi would bring to bear,

simply from publicly available information and the material already

forming part of the record, clear analysis to demonstrate how Mukesh is

a man of considerable means, given his lavish lifestyle, throwing mega

parties, and his home even being featured in architectural magazines for

its grandeur and luxury. Purvi has always contended that despite the

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Learned Family Court having indicated that it would draw an adverse

inference about either party not coming clean with full disclosure, the

Impugned Judgement erroneously has granted maintenance of a mere

Rs. 50,000 per month.

26. Purvi has brought up her daughter all by herself since 2013 and

her son too for some time. At the time of filing the Purvi IA, the

daughter was about 19 years of age. Purvi would contend that she has

had to struggle financially and work very hard to bring up her daughter,

having to depend on the resources and kindness of her brother and his

family, when what is legitimately owed to her has been denied by the

Learned Family Court. Even what is awarded to her is not being paid,

with Mukesh forcing her to run from pillar to post, running up arrears.

27. The material brought to bear by Purvi would indicate that the

Gada Family's construction business claims in the public domain, to be

sitting on a land bank, that even at ready reckoner rates maintained by

Stamp Duty authorities, would be valued at over Rs. 1,083 crores. The

broad assessment is quite convincing, going by the Gada Group's own

claims on its website and the assessment of such land resources at the

basic ready reckoner rates.

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28. While Purvi would contend that one could expect Mukesh's share

in the business to be one-fourth (25% since Popatlal, Kishore and Nilesh

too also being involved), in our opinion, even if we take Mukesh's share

at a discounted 10%, it would mean that he is a man of undeniably

powerful financial means with his share in the land bank alone coming

to over Rs. 100 crores. Even half of that at 5% would mean over Rs. 50

crores just with the landholding. A reasonable estimation of the

standard of living and lifestyle of the couple during their 16-year long

marriage would need to be informed by the lifestyle of a man of means

in such scale. There is no reason to discount such a standard of living,

with maintenance being fixed at a measly sum of Rs. 50,000 per month

for a wife of 16 years, and even for that, having her struggle just to

recover arrears.

29. Purvi would indicate that two companies owned by Mukesh

simply refrained from filing their financial statements and annual

returns until the Impugned Judgement was passed, and that they then

filed them with penalty for late filing, after the grant of divorce. That

apart, it is seen that the Income Tax Returns indeed show his ownership

of properties, which was not disclosed during the proceedings in the

trial court.

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30. The couple's son, who lives with Mukesh, has been educated

abroad. To explain this expenditure, Mukesh has sought to contend that

all expenses of his son's education were borne by Mukesh's brother

Nilesh. He would also point to an education loan that he has taken for

his son's education, which requires him to pay a hefty equated monthly

instalment ("EMI") to the Bank. However, analysis of the bank accounts

forming part of the record would show that outflows from Mukesh to his

brother Nilesh between September 2018 and July 2023 would add up to

over Rs. 10 crores - hardly the picture of a man having to borrow from a

Nilesh, a younger sibling, just to fund his son's education.

31. The matrimonial home, which was a penthouse in which the

couple lived, is claimed to have been sold, but the material on record

indicates that such sale was a few days after the Impugned Judgement

was passed. Yet, in the filings and pleadings in courts after the

Impugned Judgement was passed, this address continues to be shown

as the residential address of Mukesh.

Businesses under the Command of the 'Torchbearer':

32. That apart, in the official website of the Gada Group, the father

Popatlal is described as the " proud patriarch" of the Gada Group while

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Mukesh is depicted as the "torchbearer" of Popatlal. Mukesh's own

description on the official website is that " he has extensively invested his

attention in the real estate and construction business under the aegis of

Ace Constructions, Kubix Realties and many more". It is stated that

"Mukesh's land acquisition and legal acumen has added tremendous

growth to the group taking it to the next level ". There is no manner of

doubt that when one compares this self-description to the world at large

with the self-description in affirmations sworn on oath to this Court,

Mukesh has come to Court with unclean hands.

33. The Gada Group's website proudly claims that Kubix Realties (the

enterprise that Mukesh has invested his attention in) is the flagship

company of the group, through which many elite realty projects have

been executed including Kubix Insignia which constructed row houses

in Pune. The website also points to a partnership firm called G&S

Associates owned by Mukesh and his brothers Nilesh and Kishore. The

total area developed by this firm alone is said to be around half a million

square feet. The Gada group is adding a new township of 550

residential flats near the Pune airport to its " continuously expanding

list" of projects.

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34. Purvi has sought to aggregate the total acreage of the land listed

in the Gada Group's website to arrive at a base computation of value, on

the basis of the ready reckoner rates published by the Stamp Duty

authorities (which is judicially known to be lower than market value) to

assess the total value at over Rs. 1,083 crores. Being the torchbearer of

the patriarch presiding over this group, the Mukesh IA sounds

resoundingly false in the sworn statements of having no means, and

clearly demonstrates and underlines the dishonesty in the pleadings

filed by Mukesh in Court.

35. The Gada Group also has stated publicly that its financial services

business is carried out through a company called Financial Architect

Pvt. Ltd., managing portfolios of clients, with the assets under

management of over Rs. 100 crores. It is noteworthy that this too is

presided over by Mukesh, the proclaimed torchbearer of Popatlal, the

Gada Group's patriarch. The Gada Group also claims on its website that

a stock broking company called Pune E Stock Broking (" PESB") forms

part of their group portfolio and as a member of multiple stock

exchanges, it runs a full spectrum of financial services that any equity

investor would need.

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Prima Facie Contrivances and Devices:

36. From the material brought on record by Purvi, including bank

transfers from the multiple accounts of Mukesh and from publicly

known ownership patterns, she has also been able to make a strong

prima facie case of a pattern of transfer of interests from Mukesh to

Nilesh. She would point to Kishore too being involved in divorce

proceedings, thereby indicating that Nilesh appears to be the trusted

receptacle of ownership interests of the family, when proportionate

interests of Mukesh and Kishore are to be diluted with a view to

suppress the depiction of their asset ownership interest to Courts.

There is considerable force in this assertion - for example, Mukesh's

ownership in Mantra 29 Gold Coast LLP came down from 20% in 2019

to 5% in 2020. Kishore's interests came down from 15% to 5%. Nilesh's

interests shots up from 15% to 40%. Another example is of Kubix

Realties, which was said to be the flagship and the focus of Mukesh's

attention - the interests of Mukesh and Kishore came down from

27.04% and 47.70% respectively (in 2018) to 5% each, while Nilesh's

share shot up to 85% (by 2019).

37. Curiously, Mukesh, despite being the torchbearer of the patriarch

of the Gada Group, has claimed on oath that his income is so low that he

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had to depend on his brother Nilesh to fund his own son's education

abroad. He would point to his annual taxable income in his Income Tax

Returns being just Rs. 6 lakhs. It is noteworthy that in divorce

proceedings that Kishore is engaged in, in the disclosure of assets filed

by Kishore in terms of Rajnesh vs. Neha, Kishore would affirm on oath

that one of the "third parties" who is providing financial support for the

education of Kishore's children is Mukesh. Indeed, Kishore would

name, Popatlal and Nilesh too as such third parties, but it stands to

reason that Mukesh's claims of penury and having to depend for his own

son's education on Nilesh, rings hollow. It would also point to what is

stated earlier in this judgement about business families being one unit

in personal as well as professional lives, which has to be factored in by

Courts. The cynicism with which Courts are approached for their

perceived absence of financial literacy is writ large in the material on

record.

38. In fact, what an overview of the facts would show is that each

family member shows dependence on the other and they arrange and

re-arrange their affairs to best preserve and conserve family assets

within themselves enabling them to depict to Courts, a diminished

picture of their financial strength solely for purposes of defending

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proceedings to pay maintenance.

Contemporaneous Circumstantial Evidence:

39. We have also examined the material on record to see the

contemporaneous evidence of Mukesh's standard of living and lifestyle.

This is necessary to get a prima facie sense of the matrimonial standard

of living that can be reasonably inferred, and also to see if there is any

element of truth in the stance adopted by Mukesh on oath before this

Court, about his finances. The standard of proof for such exercise is the

civil standard of preponderance of probability.

40. It can be seen that Mukesh has been partying, trekking and

holidaying during the period of litigation in a manner that would firmly

undermine his claims of earning a mere Rs. 6 lakhs per annum (Rs.

50,000 per month). It is an admitted position that during the marriage,

he was a globe-trotter travelling to various international locations

including Macau, that is world-famous for its high-end casinos labelled

as the "Las Vegas of China". It is well known that a businessman's family

expenses and lifestyle need not be funded by his "income" - it may in

fact, constitute the expenditure of the businesses. For example,

enjoyment of a party or a trip to Macau, could simply be an expense

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charged to the business. The money he spends need not have to come

into his hands as "income" in order to flow out towards an "expense".

This financial power that pays for a married couple's standard of living

would get totally ignored if one looked merely at tax returns that are

structured to depict the minimal possible income being offered to tax.

41. On May 24, 2024, Mukesh and his son jointly celebrated their 51 st

and 24th birthdays. The photographs from this party would point to

free-flowing alcohol and a throbbing party. Both are seen sporting

Kenzo t-shirts. Even a bare look at the price of a Kenzo T-shirt from

public information would indicate that a man claiming to earn just

about Rs. 50,000 per month and thereby being unable to afford to pay

his wife Rs. 50,000 per month would ill-afford a top luxury clothing

brand - a simple crew neck t-shirt could cost upwards of Rs. 15,000 per

piece. We must hasten to add that to our minds, there is nothing to be

judgemental or inappropriate about throwing a milestone birthday party

with free-flowing alcohol, or the donning of expensive top of the line

luxury brand T-shirts at the party. What does not appeal to us in

forming our judgement, is the act of contemporaneously lying on oath

about being a man of no means, earning just Rs. 6 lakhs per annum

(about Rs. 50,000 per month) and asking for a low-end maintenance

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awarded by the Learned Family Court of a mere Rs. 50,000 per month

for a wife divorced after 16 years of cohabitation, to be stayed pending

hearing of the appeals.

Expenses for Maintenance:

42. This brings us to the expenses that have had to be incurred by

Purvi not just on herself but also on her daughter, whose parenting has

been and is Purvi's responsibility. Mukesh has not paid for the

educational expenses of the daughter unlike paying for his son (of

course claiming that he needed to take an educational loan and

brotherly funding from Nilesh, even for this). The daughter has been

entirely brought up by Purvi right from the time she was around 9 years

old when she left the matrimonial home, with no support from Mukesh.

The only flow of cash into her hands with arrears being run up was the

interim maintenance of Rs. 50,000 per month. While it is apparent that

Purvi has indeed had to depend on her own brother and family in the

process, what is prima facie very clear is that she has had to compromise

on her right to lead the same quality of life and standard of living

commensurate with the matrimonial standard of 16 years of marriage.

43. This is not a case of a short marriage being followed by

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unreasonable demands at divorce - prima facie, the legitimacy of

Purvi's expectations for a fair and reasonable maintenance can simply

not be undermined.

44. The material brought on record by Purvi also has a meticulous

comparison of the assets seen in the Income Tax Returns of Mukesh

which do not find mention in the affidavit disclosing assets filed by

Mukesh before the Learned Family Court. Therefore, there is a strong

prima facie case that the scale and nature of the lifestyle and real size of

assets and resources at Mukesh's command, have completely missed the

Learned Family Court's attention. Even the purported adverse

inference that the Learned Family Court said it would draw, is evidently

limited by the Learned Family Court's own perception of what is

necessary for maintenance of a divorcee and daughter after a 16-year

marriage in a household of the means described above. Therefore, in

our opinion, a strong prima facie case in Purvi's favour as regards the

scale of maintenance that ought to be paid, and the niggardly

maintenance awarded to her, has been made out.

45. From the material brought on record, what is writ large is the fact

that the multiple partnership firms, bodies corporate and the four male

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members of the Gada Family operate as one inextricable, interwoven

and integrated set of associated enterprises and related parties. The

standard of living and expenses of the male members and their

respective spouses in the Gada Family are funded by such closely knit

and powerfully inter-connected finances. The standard of living of any

spouse such as Purvi, of a male member of such family, as the one

Mukesh is a torchbearer of, cannot ignore the wider network power of

the inter-connected finances. The Court ought not to focus solely on a

contrived or devised under-reported financial position that the male

members choose to present in his Income Tax Returns and in divorce

proceedings. Even by law, the financial statements of a person are not

to be equated with the tax statements of that person. The financial

balance sheet and the tax balance sheet are distinct and different. It is a

trite feature of beneficial and welfare legislation that the statutory rights

and protections that are made available by law must be purposively

construed and if more than one approach is possible, the approach that

furthers the remedy and provision of welfare, and suppresses the

mischief must be adopted.

46. Therefore, by all counts, we are of the view that the maintenance

amount awarded to Purvi by the Learned Family Court is not at all a

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well-informed one. The considerable financial strength that informed

the standard of living for 16 years has completely missed the attention of

the Learned Family Court - in large part because of Mukesh not having

made a complete and truthful disclosure of the real sweep and scale of

the financial interests, and instead presenting a dishonest picture asking

to be relieved even of a low-end maintenance that has been awarded.

47. To cite just an example, Purvi has compared assets and bank

accounts set out in the disclosure affidavit of Mukesh with the asset and

bank accounts seen in the Income Tax Returns. This has been discussed

above. That apart, as a matter of law, a partnership firm and its

partners do not have separate and independent existence unlike a body

corporate and its shareholders. The strength of the partnership firms

where Mukesh has been a partner at all times material to these

proceedings, and tax returns of such firms have missed attention of the

Learned Family Court. It is important to examine the full picture in its

entirety to bring about a realistic estimation of maintenance amount to

be awarded, and this has been undermined by the shortcomings and

lacunae in Mukesh's filings, by not coming to Court with clean hands.

Mukesh's Counter-contentions:

48. Quite apart from Mukesh's prayers for reducing the maintenance

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to NIL, pending hearing and disposal of the cross appeals, it is

important to deal with Mukesh's contentions on why Purvi should not

be entitled to enhanced maintenance at Rs. 5 lakh per month. Mukesh's

prime ground towards this end is that Purvi is engaged in a business

called "Eco Dosti" which is run from her brother Ankit Shah's shop.

Mukesh contends that Purvi is running a business of landscaping,

beautification, plantation and maintenance called Tarulata Greens. By

Mukesh's own claims, these two businesses and Purvi's work as a

private tutor to children, would fetch her over Rs. 1 lakh per month. He

would go a step further and claim that Purvi earned substantial sums

during her married life from gardening and landscaping, and therefore,

she ought to fend for herself and make efforts to earn and not be

expected to be maintained by Mukesh.

49. The aforesaid objection has to be stated to be rejected. To make

his assertions about Purvi's purported business interests, Mukesh

brings nothing bear other than a trademark registration of Eco Dosti.

This is how he claims that it is a business run from Purvi's brother's

shop. It is also evident that as Mukesh's wife, she was given some role

in landscaping work for Mukesh's real estate projects (and not with the

world at large), but there is nothing to bring to bear a real professional

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engagement of Purvi even by the Gada Group on an arms' length basis,

giving a steady stream of professional income to Purvi, a female member

of the Gada Family. In fact, even assuming the Gada Group paid her a

sizeable professional income, it would stand to reason she was getting

this opportunity primarily for having been Mukesh's wife. Upon divorce,

this would evidently come to an end.

50. For her part, Purvi would explain that indeed a brand called Eco

Dosti was registered but no material business worth the name could or

has been transacted. Mukesh's written submissions are peppered

heavily with references to Eco Dosti and Tarulata Greens. Be that as it

may, we are of the view that even by Mukesh's own showing such

business would hardly be a material source of income, if despite all such

work, Purvi also has to work as a private tutor to make ends meet to

earn just about Rs. 1 lakh per month.

51. With Mukesh's resources it would not have been difficult to have

Purvi's lifestyle investigated to bring to bear far more believable input

about her purported income. We would think Mukesh, with best efforts,

has not been able to come up with anything better than a trademark

registration. Worse, from Mukesh's own claims of Purvi running two

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businesses and working as a home tutor, it is evident that he himself

admits that to barely earn Rs. 1 lakh per month (as claimed by him),

Purvi would need to run three jobs to make ends meet. The evidence

before the Family Court indicates a statement by the son that private

tuitions earned her about Rs. 45,000 per month, but to our mind, this

does not turn the needle in Mukesh's favour. If a divorced wife needs

three jobs to end up making her income add up to Rs. 1 lakh per month,

after 16 years of a high standard of living as Mukesh's wife and a

member of the Gada household, Mukesh's own submissions would

necessitate holding that Purvi is struggling hard to maintain a decent

life for her daughter, which ought to be a shared responsibility of a

father. It is true that for a divorced wife to ensure her daughter gets a

basically acceptable standard education and life, she may need to

undertake multiple jobs to earn just Rs. 1 lakh per month.

52. Worse, Mukesh would use the hard efforts of Purvi to give her

daughter a decent upbringing, as the reason not to support them. It is

claimed by Mukesh that "a woman separated from her husband

claiming to have no source of income would not even think of incurring

expenses of a yoga trainer, fitness trainer, baking classes, violin classes

etc. for her daughter". We are afraid we are unable to appreciate this

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line of argument not just for its patriarchal tenor. The contention is that

a woman divorced from her husband should curtail what her daughter

should get but a woman choosing not to leave her husband can expect

more. That a mother dares to work hard and even claim to depend on

her own brother to give the daughter (who is as much Mukesh's

offspring) a decent life, cannot be a disqualification for expecting that

the daughter's expenses for a decent standard of living be met by the

father, commensurate with his own standard of living and more

importantly, the parents' joint standard of living when the marriage had

lasted.

53. Dealing with Purvi's listed monthly expenses of Rs. 1,07,000,

Mukesh, who adorns Kenzo T-shirts, would allege that these are

"exorbitant amounts" being spent by her. According to him, household

expenses of Rs. 55,000 per month and miscellaneous expenses of Rs.

40,000 per month is exorbitant once she is separated from him.

Mukesh, as a father, also finds fault with the expenses for the daughter

being pegged at Rs. 6.25 lakh per annum. Himself a trekker, he would

fault his daughter who also treks, spending about Rs. 8,000 per month

on fitness training and yoga; Rs. 7,000 per month on violin classes; and

Rs. 3,000 per month on cooking and baking classes. Repeatedly calling

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these exorbitant, in our opinion, and that too by a person of Mukesh's

lifestyle, materially undermines Mukesh's credibility and emphasises a

mean and vindictive approach to the welfare of his own daughter for no

reason other than the fact that she is parented by Purvi.

54. Other objections from Mukesh also are prima facie found to be

without adequate merit, to make a dent on Purvi's plea for a realistic

interim maintenance. For example, he submits that Purvi has

suppressed her demat and securities trading account with Zerodha

Broking, even while indicating that her own disclosures point to some

odd transactions in securities. Mukesh would counter the references in

an architectural magazine to his luxury home by pleading that it is not

owned by him, but that it is a house belonging to his mother.

55. All of these together underline our approach articulated above in

making a reasonable assessment of the standard of living of the married

couple for an empirical indication of what a reasonable maintenance

standard should be.

56. Mukesh would take credit for having paid insurance premium on

insurance policies that also cover Purvi and the daughter. He admits

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that he paid the premiums only until 2016 and did not pay thereafter,

but now undertakes that he could reimburse Purvi for it. Of course, he

would claim in the same breath that when the policy matures, he should

get the amount. Such payment of premiums would hardly matter when

one is considering a case for maintenance payable to a divorced wife by

a man of such sizeable means as Mukesh. We are not swayed by just the

fact that Mukesh can afford to pay, but we are indeed convinced,

applying well-known principles declared by Courts in maintenance law,

including in Rajnesh vs. Neha, that Mukesh's divorced wife is entitled to

maintain a standard of living similar to the one she enjoyed during

matrimony. We are conscious that the interim applications deal with

interim maintenance pending a final hearing on the appeals.

57. Mukesh has invoked the need to service an educational loan he

has taken for funding his son's education (apart from claiming that he

depends on Nilesh to contribute to the son's education). He would

claim that the educational loan has an EMI of Rs. 1,06,235, which

clearly undermines his reliance on his Income Tax Returns to indicate

that he only earns just over Rs. 50,000 per month (Rs. 6 lakhs in a

year). One would wonder how he would pay the EMI with such a low

income. One may avail of an educational loan even if one is not in dire

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need of the loan. One may avail of such loans to project the liability too.

Going by the financial means at the command of Mukesh, the reliance

on the educational loan does not matter to our judgement of his false

claim of leading a hand-to-mouth existence.

58. Other contentions of Mukesh are about justifying the shifting

degrees of ownership among the Gada siblings stating that they are

backed by underlying business considerations. Suffice it to say, even if

such shifting of ownership stakes is fully paid for among the siblings on

an arms' length basis, Mukesh would need to be in command of

seriously material wealth, which would belie his claims of relative

penury.

59. Responding to Kishore's statement on oath that he, among others,

depends on Mukesh for the financial needs of Kishore's own children's

education, Mukesh would underline the very logic that appeals to us.

Mukesh would contend that " an inference must be made that it is the

family who is financially assisting with the education of the children ".

This is precisely why the amounts needed for leading a standard of

living by such a family's male member, needs to be assessed as being

commensurate with the assessment of a reasonable maintenance for a

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spouse of such male member for 16 years. This precise reasoning is what

has resonated with us for the reasons articulated above.

60. We are equally taken aback with Mukesh invoking a claim of a

set-off for a loan purportedly given to Purvi's uncle and claiming that

interest due to him on that count should be set off against his wife's

maintenance. A marriage and the payment of maintenance at divorce is

not a lending and borrowing transaction for such an approach to be

adopted. To claim a set-off on amounts purportedly owed to Mukesh by

an uncle of Purvi also does not make sense in view of the families of

Purvi and Mukesh being distantly related. If a loan taken by Purvi's

uncle can inform the maintenance payable to Purvi, the shared

resources of Mukesh and his brothers and father would be even more

relevant.

61. Purvi would submit that the loan on which Mukesh seeks to

leverage his obligation to maintain his divorced wife is a loan given to

the offspring of a sibling of Popatlal's paternal grandfather. Even while

all this can be examined in the final hearing, in our opinion, there can

never be a set-off on loans given by the husband to an uncle of a

divorced wife, with the maintenance dues payable by the husband to the

divorced wife.

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Reasonable Assessment of Maintenance:

62. We have to now apply our mind to what is a reasonable amount of

maintenance that ought to be paid. We have examined the expenses

projected by Purvi. To our mind, these are not prohibitive or exorbitant

at all. On the contrary, going by the standard of living that a child of

Mukesh should reasonably expect to have, we find Purvi's estimation

frugal and reasonable. The amounts indicated by her would typically fall

in the ambit of a frugal professional middle class mother.

63. Purvi is entitled to lead a life of dignity and provide her daughter

a life of dignity, and is entitled to a maintenance amount that is

commensurate with such entitlement. The Learned Family Court has

not granted anything separately in respect of the daughter. In our

opinion, a sum of Rs. 50,000 per month is hardly a reasonable and

logical quantum of maintenance.

64. The plethora of case law cited need not be dealt with in acute

detail, inasmuch as what falls for our consideration is the appropriate

interim measure in the form of maintenance that appeals to a

reasonable exercise of discretion, which is always informed by the

specific facts and circumstances of the case before the Court. Such

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exercise of discretion is always a matter of appreciation of the facts of

the case. Bearing in mind the strength of the prima facie case in Purvi's

favour, in this case, grave and irreparable harm would continue to be

occasioned on Purvi if a reasonable assessment is not made. We find

that there would be no inconvenience to Mukesh by paying a slightly

larger sum of small change towards the maintenance amounts claimed

by Purvi.

65. In that view of the matter, we have to consider an appropriate

interim measure pending disposal of the cross appeals. The Impugned

Judgement was passed two years ago after prolonged trial proceedings.

The two cross appeals would take considerable time to be heard and

disposed of. Meanwhile, it is totally unfair and unjust for the divorced

wife to have been given a maintenance amount that is not at all

commensurate with the expenses that have to be incurred by the mother

of a girl who would just be stepping into a potential professional

education in order to stand on her own feet. Purvi has already been at

the receiving end of Mukesh, who is evidently a man of strong financial

means, and yet letting the maintenance payment fall in arrears.

66. Bearing in mind the objective of welfare of a divorced wife that

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underlies the duty to pay maintenance under the HMA, we are of the

considered opinion that even assuming the findings on merits by the

Learned Family Court for the grant of divorce are entirely correct, the

maintenance awarded is simply paltry and not commensurate at all with

the principles laid down by the Supreme Court, particularly in Rajnesh

vs. Neha.

HAMA vs HMA:

67. Before we conclude, we have to state that at this stage, prima

facie, we are unimpressed by the contention that while the application

before the Learned Family Court had been made invoking HAMA, the

Impugned Judgement grants maintenance under the HMA, without a

specific application being made invoking the HMA. While this point of

law would be considered at the stage of final hearing, one cannot lose

sight of the object and purpose of the legislation involved. The HMA

requires an application for maintenance to be made. Purvi did so. She

may have sought it under HAMA but that does not mean she made no

application for maintenance. The Learned Family Court was prima facie

fully entitled to convert the interim maintenance that was being paid

under HAMA into maintenance under HMA.

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68. Prima facie, it is open to the Learned Family Court to treat the

application for maintenance as an application made in the context of the

divorce proceedings and grant maintenance in the context of granting

divorce. To make the argument about the incorrect legislation having

been invoked in the application and to contend that Purvi ought to have

been non-suited for purposes of maintenance under the HMA is to

adopt an approach akin to making contentions under a fiscal statute and

not under a welfare legislation.

Directions and Order:

69. Considering all the facts involved, including Mukesh's approach

to Court with unclean hands; the scale of expenses he indicates were

incurred on the family during the 16-year married life; the expenses

projected by Purvi; the enhanced amount indicated in the claim; also

factoring in that Purvi has been working hard as a private tutor to make

ends meet; factoring in inflation; and also discounting the fact that the

daughter is of the age of majority and yet would need significant

resources to get a good professional education which could soon make

her independent financially too, in our opinion, it would be appropriate

that Purvi is given further maintenance in a further sum of Rs.3 lakhs

per month, over and above the maintenance of Rs. 50,000 per month

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granted in the Impugned Judgement.

70. In other words, Purvi shall be entitled to an aggregate monthly

maintenance in the sum of Rs. 3,50,000 per month. The Impugned

Order shall stand, as an interim measure, modified to this extent, during

the pendency of the cross appeals, and be capable of execution for such

enhanced amount.

71. Taking into account the history of arrears being built up by

Mukesh despite being able to afford it, we direct that maintenance at the

rate of Rs. 3,50,000 per month for the next twelve calendar months

starting from November 1, 2025, shall be remitted to Purvi within four

weeks of uploading this judgement on this Court's website.

72. Therefore, to summarise, in our opinion:-

a. Mukesh has not come to Court with clean hands. There is

not only material suppression of his financial strength to

undermine the application of legal principles for considering the

quantum of maintenance, there are also positive misstatements

in his claims to be a person of poor means unable to pay even the

low maintenance originally granted on interim basis and

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converted into the final permanent alimony;

b. Purvi has made out a strong prima facie case that the

maintenance awarded to her is minuscule and not

commensurate with reasonable living and parenting expenses

that any reasonable person in her position would need;

c. The marriage of Purvi and Mukesh having lasted 16 years

with the prime of life having been invested in the marriage is an

important factor that has not been taken into consideration by

the Learned Family Court when assessing the permanent

alimony, and that needs to be corrected;

d. Purvi is hereby granted interim maintenance of Rs.

3,50,000 per month. A sum of Rs. 42,00,000 towards the 12

months starting November 1, 2025 shall be deposited by Mukesh

into Purvi's account within four weeks of the upload of this

judgement on the Court's website . The bank Account details are

as follows:

                 Bank Name:                Union Bank of India

                 Account No:               315702010836577

                 Account Holder:           Mrs. Purvi Mukesh Gada

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                           IFSC Code:              UBIN0531570

                           BRANCH:                 Bazaargate Branch, Fort.



                    e.     All the aforesaid findings are prima facie in nature and shall