Lucknow, March 30 The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Monday quashed an order of a magistrate court which had rejected a woman's plea seeking production of income proof and property details of her husband in connection with a case of domestic violence.
The court ordered the magistrate to reconsider the wife's plea afresh within six weeks.
The court stated that disclosure of income is important in cases related to maintenance and domestic violence, and the magistrate can direct the husband to provide details of his income and property by issuing an order in this regard.
A bench of Justice Brij Raj Singh passed the order on a petition filed under Section 528 of the BNSS on behalf of the wife and the couple's minor son.
An application was filed by the woman before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, First, Lucknow, under the Domestic Violence Act, accusing her husband and in-laws of dowry harassment, assault, and financial torture.
The plaintiff demanded that, under section 91 of the BNSS, the husband be ordered to submit his income tax returns and other financial documents.
In an order dated January 19, the magistrate rejected her plea, following which she approached the high court.
During the hearing, the high court bench summoned the husband's income tax returns from the Income Tax Department for the past two years.
According to the records, the husband, an architect, has an annual income between Rs 4.85 lakh and Rs 5.07 lakh.
He, however, had described himself as a labourer in the magistrate's court.
The high court cited the Supreme Court's 2021 verdict in the Rajnesh vs Neha case to say that the husband can be required to provide documents to disclose his income and assets.
The bench also ordered the husband to provide his wife with a copy of his income tax return.
