‘Tendency to downplay income in matrimonial disputes,…wife’s claims exaggerated in such cases’: Why Delhi court denied interim maintenance to woman lawyer
Court noted that petitioner was a law graduate who drew a monthly salary of Rs 51,000 until Oct 2024, and had not presented any material to show that she is unable to work now.
A Delhi court last month denied interim maintenance to a woman lawyer in a case of domestic violence stating that she was capable of sustaining herself financially.
“Given her qualifications, work experience, and the absence of any compelling reason for unemployment, it is unbelievable that she is currently unemployed. Thus, the court is of the view that the petitioner is capable of sustaining herself at this stage,” Judicial Magistrate First Class (Mahila Court) Pooja Yadav of Tis Hazari court said.
Monetary relief would be decided on merits on the conclusion of the trial, the court said.
“It has been observed in a catena of judgements that there is a tendency to downplay the income when a person is embroiled in a matrimonial dispute. Similarly, the claims made by the wife are also exaggerated in such cases,” JMFC Yadav said in her order dated September 25, which was recently made public.
The woman had moved an application under Section 12 of The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (DV Act), which allows “an aggrieved person…or any other person on behalf of the aggrieved person” to apply to the Magistrate “seeking one or more reliefs” under the Act.
The petitioner had sought interim maintenance. She stated that she had been living with her brother who had, however, asked her to move out after he had a child.
The affidavit also stated that the woman had worked with the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) on contract until October 2024, but was currently unemployed and dependent on her brother for sustenance.
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However the court noted that the petitioner was a law graduate who had drawn a salary of approximately Rs 51,000 per month until October 2024, and had not presented “any material to show that she is unable to work now or that there is any genuine obstacle in seeking employment”.
The court said that the woman did not have a child, and “no such responsibility which may prevent her from working”. Her claim of “incurring monthly expenses of around Rs 30,000 and rent…is not supported by any document… On the other hand, several credit entries are seen in her bank account post March 2024, which remain unexplained,” the court said.
“All this”, the court said, “casts doubt on her assertion that she is presently without any source of income”.
After going through the income affidavit of the husband, who was represented by advocate K K Sharma, the court noted that he was earning around Rs 35,000 per month, and had an old mother who was dependent on him.
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The wife had claimed that the husband had concealed his income, and had several other sources of income such as ancestral property, pension of his mother, agriculture, and the stock market.
Nirbhay Thakur is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express who primarily covers district courts in Delhi and has reported on the trials of many high-profile cases since 2023.
Professional Background
Education: Nirbhay is an economics graduate from Delhi University.
Beats: His reporting spans the trial courts, and he occasionally interviews ambassadors and has a keen interest in doing data stories.
Specializations: He has a specific interest in data stories related to courts.
Core Strength: Nirbhay is known for tracking long-running legal sagas and providing meticulous updates on high-profile criminal trials.
Recent notable articles
In 2025, he has written long form articles and two investigations. Along with breaking many court stories, he has also done various exclusive stories.
1) A long form on Surender Koli, accused in the Nithari serial killings of 2006. He was acquitted after spending 2 decades in jail. was a branded man. Deemed the “cannibal" who allegedly lured children to his employer’s house in Noida, murdered them, and “ate their flesh” – his actions cited were cited as evidence of human depravity at its worst. However, the SC acquitted him finding various lapses in the investigation. The Indian Express spoke to his lawyers and traced the 2 decades journey.
2) For decades, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been at the forefront of the Government’s national rankings, placed at No. 2 over the past two years alone. It has also been the crucible of campus activism, its protests often spilling into national debates, its student leaders going on to become the faces and voices of political parties of all hues and thoughts. The Indian Express looked at all court cases spanning over two decades and did an investigation.
3) Investigation on the 700 Delhi riots cases. The Indian Express found that in 17 of 93 acquittals (which amounted to 85% of the decided cases) in Delhi riots cases, courts red-flag ‘fabricated’ evidence and pulled up the police.
Signature Style
Nirbhay’s writing is characterized by its procedural depth. He excels at summarizing 400-page chargesheets and complex court orders into digestible news for the general public.
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