IMPORTANT POINT
The obligation of a husband to provide maintenance to his wife is paramount, and proper income disclosure is essential for determining maintenance quantum.

JUDGMENT :

Anubha Rawat Choudhary, J.

1. Learned counsel for the parties are present.

2. This criminal revision has been filed challenging the legality, proprietary and correctness of the judgment dated 19.02.2020 passed by the learned Principle Judge, Family Court, Ranchi, in Original Maintenance Case No. 03 of 2019 whereby the learned Family Court has been pleased to pass an order directing the petitioner to pay a sum of Rs. 45,000/-per month to the opposite party no. 2 with effect from the date of the judgment.

3. Learned counsel for the parties have submitted that the impugned judgment dated 19.02.2020 was passed prior to the judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Rajnesh vs. Neha & Anr. reported in (2021) 2 SCC 324 dated 04th November, 2020. However, this Court vide order dated 17.11.2021 had directed the parties to file their required affidavits in terms of Rajnesh vs. Neha & Anr. (supra). They submitted that affidavit has been filed before this Court, but there is a dispute with regards to correctness of the affidavit.

4. The learned counsels have jointly submitted that there is a serious dispute with regard to the quantum of maintenance in the instant case. It is not in dispute that the opposite party no. 2 is the wife of the petitioner and both the parties are well educated.

5. Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that there was no disclosure of income of the opposite party no. 2 before the learned family Court and it cannot be assumed that she did not have any income. He has submitted that the quantum of income is to be determined in accordance with law even though in the judgment passed by Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Rajnesh vs. Neha & Anr. (supra), the affidavit of disclosures was required to be filed in all pending cases. He submits that in view of the order dated 17.11.2021 passed by this court in this case as well as the nature of dispute involved in the present case, the matter is fit to be remanded to the learned Family Court for fresh consideration upon filing of affidavits of both the parties in terms of Rajnesh vs. Neha & Anr. (supra). He submits that the petitioner is ready to file the required the affidavit in terms of Rajnesh vs. Neha & Anr. (supra) before the learned Court below within a period of 15 days from today and a date for that purpose may be fixed by this Court.

6. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the opposite party no. 2 has submitted that she has no objection if the matter is remanded for fresh consideration but the maintenance which has been fixed by the learned Family Court be continued to be paid particularly with regards to the current maintenance so that the opposite party may not suffer any problem while conducting her case before the learned family court. He has also submitted that the impugned order of granting maintenance from the date of the judgment and not from the date of filing of the case itself is not correct in view of the judgment passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Rajnesh vs. Neha & Anr. (supra) which has held that the maintenance has to be awarded from the date of filing of the application.

7. Learned counsel has submitted that the maintenance may be continued as interim maintenance subject to the final result of the case before the learned family court.

8. At this, the learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that there is a distress warrant issued against the petitioner on account of non-payment of maintenance and he submits that the payment of current maintenance be made subject to the final result of the case.

9. He has further submitted that time frame of about two months may be fixed from the date of appearance of the parties, so that the matter is ultimately taken into a logical end. He further submitted that the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Rajnesh vs. Neha & Anr. (supra) has also indicated that in case of false affidavit of disclosure of assets and liabilities a proceeding under Section 340 of the Cr.P.C.