The filing of a disclosure affidavit regarding financial status is a mandatory procedural requirement in maintenance proceedings. Failure to comply with this requirement, absent a valid socio-economic exemption, prevents a just determination and necessitates a remand for fresh, comprehensive adjudication.

G. Satapathy, J.

1. This revision is directed against the impugned judgment dated 24.07.2023 passed by learned Judge, Family Court, Khurda passed in Crl.M.P No.336/2018 directing the petitioner-husband to pay a sum of Rs.5,000/- per month each to OP No.1-wife and OP No.2-son towards their maintenance w.e.f. 20.11.2018 in an application under Section 125 CrPC.

2. In the course of hearing, neither of the parties has disputed about non-filing of the disclosure affidavit in terms of the judgment passed by Apex Court in Rajnesh Vrs. Neha and another; (2021) 2 SCC 324, but except for the parties, belonging to Economical Weaker Section (EWS) or living Below Poverty Line (BPL) or are Causal Labourers, filing of such disclosure affidavit is in fact a mandatory requirement for the parties in an application for maintenance under different statutes. In this regard, this Court considers it useful to refer to the conclusion arrived at by the most celebrated decision in the field in Rajnesh (supra), wherein the Apex Court has recorded the conclusion in paragraph-72 of the judgment. Relevant conclusions are extracted as under:

“72. Keeping in mind the need for a uniform format of Affidavit of Disclosure of Assets and Liabilities to be filed in maintenance proceedings, this Court considers it necessary to frame guidelines in exercise of our powers under Article 136 read with Article 142 of the Constitution of India :

72.1.(a) The Affidavit of Disclosure of Assets and Liabilities annexed at Enclosures I, II and III of this judgment, as may be applicable, shall be filed by the parties in all maintenance proceedings, including pending proceedings before the concerned Family Court / District Court / Magistrate’s Court, as the case may be, throughout the country;

72.2. (b) The applicant making the claim for maintenance will be required to file a concise application accompanied with the affidavit of Disclosure of Assets;

72.3. (c) The Respondent must submit the reply along with the Affidavit of Disclosure within a maximum period of four weeks. The courts may not grant more than two opportunities for submission of the Affidavit of Disclosure of Assets and Liabilities to the Respondent. If the Respondent delays in filing the reply with the affidavit, and seeks more than two adjournments for this purpose, the court may consider exercising the power to strike off the defence of the Respondent, if the conduct is found to be willful and contumacious in delaying the proceedings ( Kaushalya v. Mukesh Jain , MANU/ SCOR/ 21339/ 2019: (2020) 17 SCC 822). On the failure to file the affidavit within the prescribed time, the Family Court may proceed to decide the application for maintenance on the basis of the affidavit filed by the applicant and the pleadings on record.”

72.9. (i) In case the parties belong to the economically weaker Sections (“EWS”), or are living below the poverty line (“BPL”), or are casual labourers, the requirement of filing the affidavit would be dispensed with.”

Admittedly, neither of the parties has taken the plea that they belong to Economically Weaker Section (EWS) or are living below the poverty line or are casual labourers and, therefore, in such situation the filing of disclosure affidavit is considered mandatory.

3. In the above premises, viewing what should be the consequence for non-filing of disclosure affidavits which is mandatory in nature in the present case in view of the decision in Rajnesh(supra), this Court considers it useful to refer to the decision in Aditi Vrs. Jitesh Sharma; (2023) SCC Online SC 1451, wherein the Apex Court at paragraphs-14 & 15 has held thus:-

“14. Nothing is evident from the record or even pointed out by the learned counsel for the appellant at the time of hearing that affidavits were filed by both the parties in terms of judgment of this Court in Rajnesh's case (supra), which was directed to be communicated to all the High Courts for further circulation to all the Judicial Officers for awareness