File affidavit in every maintenance case
The Supreme Court (SC), in Aditi Alias Mithi v Jitesh Sharma [2023 INSC 981 ] directs all the courts in India to follow the detailed guidelines issued by it in Rajnesh v Neha & Another [(2021) 2 SCC 32], including filing of the uniform format of Affidavit of Disclosure of Assets and Liabilities, in maintenance proceedings, including the pending ones.
The need to follow the factors laid by the SC in the above cases have been reiterated in subsequent judgements including the landmark judgement Kiran Jyoti Maini v Anish Pramod Patel [2024 INSC 530].
Maintenance ensures the wife a decent living
The SC categorically states that the award of maintenance or permanent alimony is not to punish the husband, but to ensure the wife a decent living and to prevent her from falling into destitution or vagrancy in later life.
Affidavit to be filed in pending cases
The part VI (b) of the judgement in Rajnesh v Neha & Another [(2021) 2 SCC 32] directs that the Affidavit of Disclosure of Assets and Liabilities shall be filed by both parties in all maintenance proceedings, including pending proceedings before the concerned Family Court / District Court / Magistrates Court, throughout the country.
Affidavit helps in assessing actual need
The uniform format of Affidavit for Disclosure of Assets and Liabilities has been prescribed in maintenance proceedings, as it has been a practice that the wife tends to exaggerate her needs and the husband tends to conceal his actual income in maintenance proceedings.
SC wants the judgement to be circulated to all courts
In Aditi Alias Mithi v Jitesh Sharma [2023 INSC 981], the SC directed the Secretary General of the SC to re-circulate the judgment in Rajnesh v Neha & Another [(2021) 2 SCC 32], not only to all the Judicial Officers through the High Courts concerned, but also to the National Judicial Academy & the State Judicial Academies, to be taken note of during their training programmes.
Granting of maintenance must be based on affidavit
The High Court of Kerala, in para 7 (viii) of the judgement in Ratheesh S v Sreelekshmi S [ 2025:KER:22087], specifically directs that all the courts in the state dealing with maintenance cases to follow the guidelines of the SC in Rajnesh v Neha & Another [(2021) 2 SCC 32], before passing a final order for maintenance and the parties should positively file an Affidavit of Disclosure of Assets and Liabilities.
The order in maintenance cases should be passed by every court based on the pleading, evidence, and the Affidavit of Disclosure of Assets & Liabilities.
References
- Rajnesh v Neha & Another [(2021) 2 SCC 32]
- Kiran Jyoti Maini v Anish Pramod Patel [2024 INSC 530]
- Aditi Alias Mithi v Jitesh Sharma [2023 INSC 981]
- Ratheesh S v Sreelekshmi S [ 2025: KER:22087]
