I live abroad, and wife and daughter are in India. My wife is not staying with me since last three years, so I filed in my hometown in India. In response, my wife has filed written statement asking 1 lac per month interim maintenance. She earns 65k per month, and she is a software engineer. Her lawyer is comparing her Indian salary directly with my UK salary and asking the court for the interim maintenance. However, the court has not yet considered expenses in the UK before comparing our salaries. I tried to search hard on Indiankanoon.org for the use of PPP index in HMA24 interim cases but didn't get any useful citations. 1. I want to give the court some case references where PPP index is taken into account before ordering Interim Maintenance (HMA 24) or permanent alimony (HMA 25). 2. Also, my case is in Maharashtra district court, and I know as per Delhi High Court rules, Delhi working women needs to submit an affidavit of their income before asking HMA 24. Can I use Delhi High Court reference in Maharashtra court and ask my wife to provide an affidavit of her income? I am ready to submit mine. 3. My wife works for a reputed software private firm in India so can I use crpc 91 or RTI to get her salary slip?
you can request your wife to disclose on affidavit her monthly income
2) rely upon judgment of Delhi HC wherein both parties have been directed to furnish on affidavit their incomes
3) you can make application calling upon wife to produce her income tax returns for last 3 years , her salary slip, bank statement
4) unable to find any judgments wherein PPP index is taken into account while determining maintenance
1. I doubt PPP index has been taken into consideration anytime any any Indian Court in determining the quantum of maintenance.
2. Off course you can rely on the Rules of the Delhi High Court which mandate submission of an affidavit in respect of income of the wife in all applications under section 24 HMA. It would be even better. if you cite the case law of the Delhi High Court in pursuance of which this particular rule has been incorporated in the set of rules.
3. Private organisations are not covered under the RTI Act and hence, I am afraid that the relevant information will be shared with you by the concerned private co. pursuant to your application under RTI. Nevertheless, you may still shoot an application to them seeking necessary information under RTI Act. Later, you may annex this application in your application that you will move before the concerned court under section 91 CRPC for production of necessary documents.
I will look for case on PPP Index and send it across to you, if I find any. Let me know if I could be of any further assistance to me. Please rate and review my answer as well.
Hello
you can also file an affidavit in the court and ask the court to ask your wife to produce her IT returns to see the earning capacity of your wife.
You are correct when you say that there is a judgment of Delhi High Court to this effect but the judgment is factually centered and I dont know that weather those facts will apply to your case or not, there are judgement of other High Courts which says otherwise. However you can definitely produce the judgment of Delhi High Court, though not binding but it will have persuasive value.
Following was the arguments with regards to maintenance in one of the cases: (Just for the purpose of reference)
the Act is silent about the duties of husband or the duties of wife. Thus, maintenance can be fixed by the Court under Domestic Violence Act only as per prevalent law regarding providing of maintenance by husband to the wife. Under prevalent laws i.e. Hindu Adoption & Maintenance Act, Hindu Marriage Act, Section 125 Cr.P.C - a husband is supposed to maintain his un-earning spouse out of the income which he earns. No law provides that a husband has to maintain a wife, living separately from him, irrespective of the fact whether he earns or not. Court cannot tell the husband that he should beg, borrow or steal but give maintenance to the wife, more so when the husband and wife are almost equally qualified and almost equally capable of earning and both of them claimed to be gainfully employed before marriage. If the husband was BSc. and Masters in Marketing Management from Pondicherry University, the wife was MA (English) & MBA. If the husband was working as a Manager abroad, the wife with MBA degree was also working in an MNC in India
You can also use such arguments, which will ultimately result into reduction of maintenance probably.
Regards
1. This is an usual practice to multiply income earned abroad with PPP index of currency of the said country. No court will equate earning in USA with that in India and direct the husband to pay 1/4th (present Supreme Court direction) of his monthly earnings in dollars to his wife towards her maintenance. No case reference is required for converting the earnings abroad in to earnings in India by factoring with PPP index.
2. You can certainly pray before the Court seeking direction upon the wife to declare her income under affidavit.
3. No. Her salary is her personal information which you can not ask from her employer as per RTI Act.Sections of Cr.P.C. is not applicable in divorce cases. You can seek courts direction upon your wife or to i.tax department to submit her i.T Returns for last 3 years. It is the usual practice in divorce/maintenance cases
1. Basically the working women are not eligible for seeking maintenance for themselves especially if they are proved to draw a handsome salary.
For the children also they should contribute equally.
The stand that she voluntarily abandoned the matrimonial home without any valid reason may help to fight it out more strongly.
2. In the maintenance case, she has to file an affidavit whether in Delhi or Maharashtra, you need not insist on it, the rules are same across the country.
3. If the proof submitted are not satisfactory then an application may be filed under order XI rule 16 - notice to produce the documents relied upon.
If wife is earning sufficiently she is not entitled to any maintenance from you. Other side will always say as per their convenient. Once your UK salary referred them the court must consider your Uk expenses.
1. It is settled legal position that while dealing with Section 24 HMA 1955 application or Section 25 the court must take in consideration of income of claiming party and obviously there some citation. I will try to referrer you shortly.
2. Yes. Definitely you can take shelter of Judgement of Hon'ble High Court of Delhi before the District Court at Maharashtra, Maharashtra District will consider if that judgments not overruled by higher court.
3.SInce your divorce petition is before family court under HMA Section 91 CrPC is not advisable and family court will not accept any petition under CrPC. YOu can summon the officials / concerned salary disbursing officers of your wife's employer under Order XVI of Civil Procedure Code or your avail information under RTI and submit before court.
Can two divorce cases run in parallel in two cities? My wife & I have been living separately since last 3.5 years. Finally, I had filed a divorce petition in my hometown where we both used to live in Mar - 2017. My wife also filed another divorce petition in April -2017 in her hometown where she is living now. I flew out of the country for my job, and since then my case is going on in my hometown. My wife appeared in my case and submitted her WS, and now the case is pending for interim maintenance. I never received her case's summons because I am still out of the country, but my father did receive it. Our lawyer told us not to appear in my wife's hometown court and let the matter run in my hometown. What my wife's lawyer is doing is he sends his junior lawyer just to appear in my hometown court and try to get next date, and in the meantime, he is taking dates in my wife's case in her hometown. I can see online the status of my wife's case is 'Return of Summons.' I am not able to understand what are they up to? Why are they running a parallel case? Should I appear in my wife's case or just work on my hometown case? Can they get an ex-party in her hometown court?
Challenge the proceedings of your wife’s divorce case in the High Court, teo cases can not run for the same issue in two different court. Bring the same to the knowledge of the court and if no action is taken then approach the HC for getting the same quashed saying that the wife has participated in the other proceedings.
Regards
1) both can file parallel divorce cases
2) you should appear in divorce case filed by wife after summons are served to you
3) if you don’t appear exparte decree would be passed against you
1. It is beneficial for the Advocates to run cases as long as possible since they get the appearance fee. So, adjournments and taking dates are the common practice found in courts.
2. I strongly advise against not attending a Court case since the order passed by the court will be binding on the litigants. So, either attend to the case filed by your wife submitting there that you have also filed divorce case at your place or file an application before the Supreme Court praying for shifting her divorce case to your place and merge with your case filed therein. Do not allow any case to run against you unattended.
3. If you do not attend the case filed at her place, it might be decided ex-parte and you shall have to approach High Court of her State to challenge the adverse ex-parte order.
4. Arrange to get her case transferred and merged with your case in Court of your place as advised above.
- Pendency of two parallel divorce case implies that both of you are ready for divorce. in this case, one of you can give consent and thus obtain divorce by mutual consent. Technically, the one filed first will have precedence over the above.
- You lawyers advise is right. Inform the court in your hometown about the parallel divorce proceedings initiated by your wife.