Deliberate suppression of material facts and making false statements to obtain legal orders amounts to fraud and must be dealt with firmly by the court.

JUDGMENT

1. Heard.

2. Rule. Rule is made returnable forthwith with consent.

3. The petitioner is assailing the common order dated 16.2.2019, rendered by the learned Judge, Family Court, Akola in Petition E-143/2015 below Exh. 58 and Exh. 69, whereby the said applications are rejected.

4. Application Exh. 58 was preferred seeking modification of the order dated 16.7.2016, whereby the petitioners wife - the respondent herein, was granted interim maintenance. Application Exh. 58, was preferred on the premise that the wife obtained the order dated 16.7.2016, fraudulently. The petitioner averred in application Exh. 58, that the wife stated falsehood on oath and deliberately suppressed that she was employed with HDFC bank on monthly salary of Rs. 11,450/- not including the commission. In essence, application Exh. 58 contends that the order of interim maintenance is vitiated by fraud. Application Exh. 69, was preferred seeking modification of the same order dated 16.7.2016, for reasons other than those in application Exh. 58. The learned Judge, Family Court, was pleased to dismiss the applications. The contention of the petitioner that the order of interim maintenance was obtained by fraudulent suppression of material facts is brushed aside observing thus:

''5. Respondent husband has moved application Ex. 59 on the ground that petitioner wife has joined service at the HDFC Bank on 30.6.2016 and resigned from the said job on 6.4.2017. It is his further contention that on the date of filing of affidavit of evidence, wife was serving with the said bank on the yearly package of Rs. 1,37,388/-.

6. Now the matter has proceeded. Petitioner has been examined and her side has been closed. Similarly, respondent husband has examined himself and he proposes to examine officer of HDFC Bank as regards employment of the applicant. According to me, it would be just and proper to consider the contentions of the earnings of the wife at the time of final determination of the maintenance petition on the basis of the substantive evidence brought on record. It would not be in the interest of justice to pass any other order or to alter the interim maintenance order at this stage''.

5. The learned Judge, Family Court dealt with Exh. 69, thus:

''7. By the subsequent application Exh. 69, respondent husband wants direction that husband shall not be liable to pay the amount of maintenance of Rs. 2500/- granted by this Court as already maintenance of Rs. 7500/- has been granted in favour of the wife under D.V. Act.

8. In this regard, it is necessary to take into consideration the subsequent happenings in the present case which has occurred in view of orders passed by superior courts from time to time. As already discussed in detail in A.P. No. 16/17 filed by the respondent husband before this Court, the order of interim maintenance is modified on conditions to be complied by the respondent husband as per order of Honble Bombay High Court, Bench at Nagpur dt. 5.10.2018 in Cri. Writ P. No. 9/18. As such, no further modification is required. In fact, the application should have been not pressed by the respondent husband. In view of the subsequent developments, even application Exh. 69 is devoid of merit and deserves to be rejected. Hence, application filed at Exh. 58 and 69 stands rejected''.

6. It is stated at the bar that the proceedings initiated by the wife under the provisions of the 23 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (''DV Act'' for short), stand dismissed. The rejection of application Exh. 69 and the reasons recorded by the learned Judge, Family Court are no longer in issue in view of the dismissal of the proceedings.

7. The facts which have come to the fore during the course of the hearing are extremely disturbing. It is irrefutable, that the respondent brazenly lied on oath and that she suppressed material facts. She was employed and yet chose to make a false statement on oath that she has no source of income. Unfortunately, the