Delhi High Court: Wife Must Disclose Recent Salary Slips to Claim Maintenance

The Delhi High Court held that a court can draw adverse inferences if a wife seeking maintenance fails to provide her most recent salary slips, especially when she claims financial hardship. 

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma upheld a Family Court order that denied maintenance after the wife produced only a December 2016 salary slip but failed to submit updated income details despite repeated opportunities.

The Court said that without “clear and reliable evidence of financial hardship,” such claims remain speculative and unsustainable under Section 125 CrPC.