Overview
- The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court set aside the magistrate’s January 19 order that refused the wife’s request for her husband’s income records and told the trial court to rehear the matter within six weeks.
- To test the husband’s stated earnings, the bench called for his income tax returns for assessment years 2023–24 and 2024–25 from the Income Tax Department.
- The tax returns showed he is an architect with incomes of Rs 4,85,290 and Rs 5,07,680, which clashed with his claim in the trial court that he was a labourer.
- The court relied on the Supreme Court’s Rajnesh v. Neha precedent, which allows judges to require spouses to disclose income and assets in domestic violence and maintenance proceedings.
- The husband was directed to give his wife a copy of his return, a move that could shape support for her and their minor son by tying any award to documented figures.