The Allahabad High Court (Lucknow Bench) set aside a magistrate’s order denying a wife access to her husband’s income details, directing reconsideration, and affirming courts can compel disclosure of income and assets in domestic violence proceedings.
LUCKNOW: The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court set aside a magistrate’s order that had denied a woman’s request for her husband’s income and property details in a domestic violence matter. The court directed the magistrate to re-examine the wife’s application within six weeks.
Noting that disclosure of income is crucial in maintenance and domestic violence proceedings, the High Court observed that the magistrate has the power to compel the husband to disclose his income and assets by issuing an appropriate order.
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Justice Brij Raj Singh issued the ruling on a petition filed on behalf of the wife and the couple’s minor son. The woman had approached the additional chief judicial magistrate, First, Lucknow, under the Domestic Violence Act, alleging dowry-related harassment, assault, and financial torture by her husband and in-laws.
During the hearing, the High Court obtained the husband’s income tax returns for the past two years from the Income Tax Department, which show his annual income to be between Rs 4.85 lakh and Rs 5.07 lakh. In the magistrate’s court, however, he had described himself as a “labourer.”
The High Court referred to the Supreme Court’s 2021 decision in Rajnesh vs Neha, stating that a husband can be required to produce documents revealing his income and assets. The bench also ordered that the husband provide his wife with a copy of his income tax return.
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