The Delhi High Court ruled that self-declared income details on matrimonial websites cannot serve as admissible or reliable evidence in court. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma stated that such unverified claims lack legal credibility. The Court dismissed a woman’s plea seeking enhanced maintenance. This was based on her husband’s online profile, which claimed an annual income of over ₹10 lakhs. The Family Court had earlier directed the husband to pay ₹12,500 monthly until December 31, 2012, and ₹24,000 monthly from January 1, 2013, to February 22, 2016, until the woman’s remarriage. The wife failed to disclose her remarriage during her 2023 cross-examination, which the Court noted as suppression of facts. The husband denied the income claim, highlighting the absence of documentary evidence. The High Court emphasized that assumptions about rising income over the years are speculative and cannot determine maintenance without proof.
It concluded that income can fluctuate due to personal and professional factors and should not be presumed to increase automatically. The judgment reinforces that courts need verified, tangible proof rather than speculative or online claims when deciding maintenance.
