1 wp-7096 PGK IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY Appellate Side Writ Petition No.7096 of 2010 Shivraj Ramchandra Chavan .. .. Petitioner v/s. Trupti Shivraj Chavan .. .. Respondent Ms.Chandana Salgaonkar for Petitioner. Mr.S.M.Gorwadkar for Respondent. ---- CORAM : SMT.ROSHAN DALVI, J. DATED : 9th December, 2010 P.C. : 1.Rule. Rule is made returnable forthwith. 2.The Petitioner/husband has challenged the order of interim maintenance passed in the divorce Petition filed by the wife. The wife has been granted interim maintenance of Rs.25,000/- for herself and Rs.10,000/- for the child. The Petitioner concedes that he would make payment as directed for the child. The Petitioner takes exception to the interim maintenance granted to the wife. This is on the premise that the wife has sufficient income to maintain herself. 3.The wife is an interior designer. She is a partner in the partnership firm. She has 50% share of the profit 2 wp-7096 and loss of the firm. She has her separate bank account. She admittedly had several contracts in the period prior to the application being taken out. The income tax returns for the prior period as well as the later period show almost similar professional receipts. That is in the range of Rs.4 Lakhs. Yet she claims that after she filed the application and after the disputes she did not earn because she was mentally disturbed. The Respondent has shown several contracts which she unearthed after the impugned order came to be passed. Those have been admitted by the wife. In fact, she has mentioned about another such contract. When the wife has been professionally employed and has been working as an interior designer, it is for her to specifically make out a case for whatever reason that her income suddenly stopped when the disputes started as she has claimed mental disturbance. There is absolutely no such substantiating evidence. The learned Judge has proceeded on the footing that the wife does not get any income and the husband earns about Rs.14 Lakhs a year. In fact, the learned Judge has specifically observed that there is nothing on record to draw the inference that the wife is getting income from her business of interior designer and she had concealed her income. 4.It is seen that the wife continues to get contracts professionally and hence, perhaps, except in the 3 wp-7096 interregnum when she may justifiably have been mentally disturbed, she would have picked up the threads of her life to get back to work. All these aspects can be best judged at the trial, when she would certainly be entitled to claim maintenance upon the facts of her case. The wife can, therefore, apply for permanent maintenance upon leading evidence. 5.Counsel on behalf of the husband has shown that even for the contracts which the wife had and which are admitted by her in the Affidavit filed in this Petition, the amounts received therefrom are not reflected as credits in her bank account even of those years. All these aspects would have to be explained by the wife. 6.It is true that the husband cannot rely only upon his income tax returns. The husband must show the statement of his income which would reflect his other earnings, if any, his investments and savings etc. That has not been produced by the husband also. That would also have to be seen by the Court. 7.The matter would require evidence to be led. Both parties must specifically lead evidence by way of their examination-in-chief to produce and prove the documents that they rely upon which would enable the Court to 4 wp-7096 consider a specific amount of maintenance to be granted to the wife as permanent maintenance. Until that is done, therefore, in view of the new facts, the order granting interim maintenance to the wife is required to be set aside. The order granting interim maintenance to the child is confirmed and accepted by the husband. The parties shall, on the same application that is pending before the Family Court, produce their respective evidence. 8.The learned Judge of the Family Court shall decide on such evidence the amount of permanent maintenance to be paid to the wife. 9.Counsel on behalf of the husband states that upto-date maintenance for the child has been deposited in this Court. The wife shall be entitled to withdraw the said amount and the office shall issue a cheque of the entire arrears of the amount paid by the husband to the credit of this Petition to the wife forthwith. The husband shall pay the child s maintenance from December 2010 to the wife directly. 10.Rule is granted accordingly. (SMT.ROSHAN DALVI, J.) 5 wp-7096