The court mandated detailed affidavits of assets, income, and expenditure in maintenance cases to ensure fair and timely determinations while emphasizing the necessity of maintenance as a basic human right.

JUDGMENT

1. In matrimonial cases, the Court has to ascertain the financial capacity/status of both the parties for fixing maintenance. In many developed countries, the law prescribes a comprehensive format of assets, income and expenditure to be filed by both the parties at the very threshold of matrimonial litigation. However, there is no provision of law in our country for directing the parties to disclose their assets, income and expenditure in a particular format.

2. Vide judgment dated 14th January, 2015, this Court, after considering the International Best Practices, issued directions and formulated an affidavit of assets, income and expenditure to be filed by both parties at the very threshold of matrimonial litigation. This Court modified the aforesaid directions and format of assets, income and expenditure vide judgments dated 29th May, 2017 and 06th December, 2017.

3. In the earlier judgments dated 14th January, 2015; 29th May, 2017 and 06th December, 2017, this Court considered ten affidavits of assets, income and expenditure used in five countries. Fifty more formats of affidavits of assets, income and expenditure of various countries namely U.S.A., U.K., Ireland, Singapore, Canada, Australia and South Africa have now come to the notice of this Court thereby warranting modification of the judgment dated 06th December, 2017.

4. The Family Courts have sent their response/feedback and further suggestions to the working of the guidelines mentioned in the judgment dated 06th December, 2017 which have been considered by this Court. Mr. Sunil Mittal, Senior Advocate and Ms. Anu Narula, Advocate, assisting this Court as amici curiae, have given further suggestions which have also been considered.

5. In Bhandari Engineers & Builders Pvt. Ltd. v. Maharia Raj Joint Venture, (2020) 266 DLT 106 (hereinafter referred to as Bhandari Engineers I), this Court formulated an affidavit of assets, income and expenditure to be filed by the judgment-debtor in execution cases. Vide judgment dated 05th August, 2020 in Bhandari Engineers & Builders Pvt. Ltd. v. Maharia Raj Joint Venture (hereinafter referred to as Bhandari Engineers II), this Court modified and improved the format of affidavits of assets, income and expenditure to make it more comprehensive and further directions have been passed so that the execution cases are decided within a period of one year from the date of their institution.

6. The affidavits formulated by this Court in Bhandari Engineers II are far more comprehensive than the affidavit formulated by this Court for matrimonial cases. This Court considers it appropriate to incorporate the benevolent features of Bhandari Engineers II in the format of the affidavits of assets, income and expenditure in this case.

7. On careful consideration of the directions issued by this Court in Bhandari Engineers II; International Best Practices used in the developed countries; feedback and suggestions of the Family Courts and the suggestions of the learned amici curiae, the directions issued by this Court in judgment dated 18th September, 2014 - (2014) 214 DLT 493 (hereinafter referred to as `Kusum Sharma I'); judgment dated 14th January, 2015 - (2015) 217 DLT 706 (hereinafter referred to as `Kusum Sharma II'); judgment dated 29th May, 2017 - MANU/DE/2406/2017 (hereinafter referred to as `Kusum Sharma III') and judgment dated 06th December, 2017 - (2018