Wife is concealing her income and salary proof in maintenance case filed under section 125 crpc. She has been living apart from last three years. I came to know from my own sources that she is working in a company at the HR executive (my wife did MBA in human resources) and drawing salary around sixty thousand monthly. In the maintenance case she is claiming fifth thousand per month as interim maintenance from me. I tried to contact that company and requested to furnish her salary slip or appointment letter to produce in the court to prove her monthly income.
But the company has refused to furnish any document relating to its employee. It is against the policy of that company. In this situation I am totally helpless to produce truth before the court when the petitioner has concealed material fact. It is not expected from the petitioner wife to claim alimony and concealing her income and salary proof to the court. I also tried to get her bank statement but failed to get. In this situation it is likely possible that wife will get maintenance whereas she is a guilty party. she is doing all illegal acts to harass me.
Asked from: Uttar Pradesh
In the present scenario, a wife cannot claim maintenance while concealing her income and salary details. In Rajneesh vs. Neha (2020), the Supreme Court directed that in every maintenance case, both parties are required to submit an affidavit disclosing their income, assets, and liabilities. A maintenance case cannot proceed without this affidavit. Since it must be filed on oath, any false information provided may lead to prosecution for the offence of perjury.
If your wife has not submitted this affidavit, you should first request the court to direct her to file an affidavit disclosing her income, assets, and liabilities. If the affidavit has already been filed but she has concealed information regarding her income, you can file an application under Order XI of the Code of Civil Procedure for discovery of documents. You may request your wife to produce her bank statements, appointment letter, income tax returns, and any other relevant documents related to her income. She is legally obligated to furnish these documents under oath.
If the wife is claiming a fixed monthly allowance from the husband in the form of alimony, but her own income exceeds the amount she seeks, the court will likely dismiss her maintenance claim on the ground that she has sufficient means to support herself.
Related: Can wife claim maintenance after divorce on the ground of desertion
