The Bombay High Court has significantly increased a woman’s monthly alimony after finding that her estranged husband deliberately concealed his vast wealth and misled the court about his income. The court raised the monthly maintenance from ₹50,000 to ₹3.5 lakh, noting that the Pune-based businessman falsely claimed to earn only ₹6 lakh a year despite controlling an empire worth ₹1,000 crore. Calling this assertion “absurd,” the division bench of Justice B.P. Colabawalla and Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan ruled that the husband had failed to approach the court with clean hands. The bench also directed him to deposit ₹42 lakh as arrears for unpaid maintenance from the past year.
The court observed that the husband intentionally misrepresented his financial condition and falsely portrayed himself as incapable of paying even the original amount of maintenance. The couple, married in 1996, lived together for 16 years before separating in 2013. Following their divorce granted by the Pune family court, the wife sought an increase in alimony, while the husband moved to cancel it, claiming financial distress. After reviewing all submissions, the High Court passed a crucial order in the woman’s favor, declaring her demand for enhanced maintenance fair and supported by evidence.
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In her petition, the woman stated that she faced severe financial hardship while raising their daughter alone, whereas her husband continued to live in luxury. He argued that his income had dropped since the COVID-19 pandemic and that he had already provided enough financial support. However, the High Court found several proofs of his lavish lifestyle — including photos of extravagant birthday celebrations, luxury Kenzo-branded clothing, frequent foreign trips, and his child’s overseas education — establishing that he was far from financially constrained. The judges noted that his sworn claim of earning only ₹6 lakh annually was deceitful and aimed at misleading the court.
Setting aside the earlier family court order, the Bombay High Court emphasized that both the woman and her daughter are entitled to live with dignity and financial security. The bench stated that the previously fixed ₹50,000 monthly alimony was insufficient in view of the husband’s immense financial capacity. Consequently, the court raised the maintenance sevenfold to ₹3.5 lakh per month. It further observed that a man with such substantial resources cannot evade his legal responsibilities by concealing income and highlighted that truthfulness and full financial disclosure are essential in marital and maintenance proceedings.