Delhi High Court: The Bench of Sanjeev Sachdeva, J. directed the parties to appear before the trial court for fresh consideration of an application under Section 125 CrPC filed by the wife, son and daughter of the respondent.
Earlier the application for grant of maintenance was rejected by the trial court. In regard to son and daughter, the rejection was on the ground that they were major. While in regard to the wife, rejection was on the ground that she was employed and earning. This finding was based on the report of one Bajaj Detective Agency employed by the respondent which stated that the wife was employed as a Lab Assistant in Safdarjung Hospital.
Umesh Sinha and Anil Kumar Singh, Advocates for petitioners contended that even daughters are entitled to maintenance till their marriage and thus challenged the rejection of the application by the trial court.
The High Court noted the admitted position that at the time filing the application, the son was a minor. The daughter was 23 years but the fact whether she was earning and able to maintain herself was not considered. Furthermore, in regard to the wife, perusal of the detective’s report showed that the above-mentioned finding was not based on any foundational document, fact or evidence. it was also noted that the parties had not filed their income affidavit before the Court. On such facts and circumstances, the Court held that the impugned order was not sustainable and the matter was remitted back to the trial court for fresh consideration. The parties were directed to file their affidavit of income and expenditure in the format laid down in Kusum Sharma v. Mahinder Kumar Sharma, 2015 SCC OnLine Del 6793. [Kamlesh Sharma v. State, 2019 SCC OnLine Del 6529, decided on 16-01-2019]