In a strong reminder to lower courts, the Kerala High Court has emphasized that all maintenance orders must adhere to Supreme Court-mandated guidelines, including the submission of financial disclosure affidavits from both parties. Any maintenance order issued without this crucial step is legally invalid, the court ruled.
The directive came as Justice Kauser Edappagath overturned a Kollam family court’s order that had directed a man to pay interim maintenance to his wife and child without verifying their financial disclosures. The High Court pointed out that the Supreme Court’s ruling in Rajnesh v. Neha makes it mandatory for both parties to file affidavits detailing their income, assets, and liabilities before any maintenance decision is made.
The Supreme Court had introduced this requirement to prevent financial misrepresentation—where petitioners might exaggerate their needs and respondents might downplay their financial capacity. However, despite these clear guidelines, the High Court observed that many courts in Kerala continued to issue maintenance orders without enforcing this rule.
Terming this practice “unfortunate,” the High Court reaffirmed that any court handling maintenance cases must first obtain and assess financial disclosure affidavits before deciding on interim or final maintenance payments.
The case in question involved a man contesting an order that required him to pay ₹5,000 per month each to his wife and child. His legal team argued that the family court had bypassed the Supreme Court’s mandatory requirement, making the order unsustainable. The High Court agreed, nullifying the decision and sending the case back for reconsideration in compliance with the required financial disclosure process.
With this ruling, the Kerala High Court has reinforced that maintenance proceedings must be transparent and fair, ensuring that financial responsibilities are determined based on verified information rather than assumptions.