How to appreciate evidence if a daughter claims in social media posts that she is earning a considerable income?

 As far as the second ground for modification is concerned, it is to the effect that she on her own, earns a handsome income from her modeling career. After considering the evidence placed on

record being, the printed copies of the photographs posted by his

daughter in the social media like instagram and her instagram

biography, where she has claimed that she earns an income of

Rs.72 lakhs to Rs.80 lakhs, learned Judge, in my considered

opinion, has rightly recorded that the photographs of instagram

and her instagram biography is not sufficient to hold that she has

independent and sufficient income.

7. It is well known fact that it is the habit of the youth of

today, to project a glossy picture and posting the same in the

social media though its contents may not be always true. Since

the petitioner’s contention that his daughter’s earning is Rs.72

lakhs to Rs.80 lakhs is based merely on his daughter’s

photographs posted in instagram and her instagram history, the

learned Judge has rightly disbelieved the same in the absence of

any independent evidence to be brought on record, to show her

earnings.

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

WRIT PETITION NO.7633 OF 2021

Anil Chandravadan Mistry Vs. The State of Maharashtra & Ors. 

CORAM : SMT. BHARATI DANGRE, J.

DATED : 16TH JUNE, 2022.

1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned

counsel for respondent No.2.

2. The petition is filed by the husband, being aggrieved by

the order passed by the Family Court in Petition No.A-2919 of

2014, below Exh.50. By the said order, the application filed by

the petitioner-husband subsequent to seeking modification of the

earlier order dated 01/09/2018, pursuant to the liberty obtained

from this court on 04/01/2021, in Writ Petition No.13733 of

2018 came to be rejected.

3. The marital discord between the husband and the wife,

need not be gone into, in order to determine the legality of the

impugned order. Suffice it to note that, out of the wedlock, one

son and one daughter were born and both are, now major. The

respondent-wife filed an application under Section 24 of the

Hindu Marriage Act for maintenance pendente lite and by order

dated 01/09/2018, the application came to be allowed and the

husband was held liable to pay an amount of Rs.25,000/- per

month towards maintenance of his daughter, who was major,

from 17/07/2015 till final disposal of the main petition.

4. Being aggrieved by the said order, the petitioner has

approached this court by filing Writ Petition No.13733 of 2018

and on 04/01/2021, sought its withdrawal with liberty to move

for modification of the impugned order before the Family Court

based on the subsequent developments.

5. Liberty as sought for, was granted and resultantly, he

moved an application, Exh.-50, seeking modification of the order

dated 01/09/2018 by pleading that his daughter is major and

completed her education and she is working and earning

sufficiently for her own maintenance.

6. Learned Judge while considering the said application,

considered order dated 04/01/2021 as nub of the issue by

recording that the withdrawal of the petition was sought with

liberty to file an application for modification based on the

“subsequent developments”. Considering the aspect that what

are the “subsequent developments”, learned Judge of the Family

Court recorded that the settled position of law is to the effect that

even when a daughter becomes major, she is entitled for

maintenance from her father till her marriage and, as can be seen

from the provisions of Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act,

there is no embargo for the maintenance not being paid by the

father in favour of the daughter, who is major. As far as the

second ground for modification is concerned, it is to the effect

that she on her own, earns a handsome income from her

modeling career. After considering the evidence placed on

record being, the printed copies of the photographs posted by his

daughter in the social media like instagram and her instagram

biography, where she has claimed that she earns an income of

Rs.72 lakhs to Rs.80 lakhs, learned Judge, in my considered

opinion, has rightly recorded that the photographs of instagram

and her instagram biography is not sufficient to hold that she has

independent and sufficient income.

7. It is well known fact that it is the habit of the youth of

today, to project a glossy picture and posting the same in the

social media though its contents may not be always true. Since

the petitioner’s contention that his daughter’s earning is Rs.72

lakhs to Rs.80 lakhs is based merely on his daughter’s

photographs posted in instagram and her instagram history, the

learned Judge has rightly disbelieved the same in the absence of

any independent evidence to be brought on record, to show her

earnings.

8. Considering the earnings of the petitioner-husband and his

responsibility to maintain his daughter, who was found to be

without any source of income and, particularly, when she is

prosecuting her career at Pearl Academy, which warranted huge

fees to be incurred, the modification application was considered

by the learned Judge, in the wake of the paraphrased “subsequent

developments”, on which the modification is sought, and

rejected the same.

I do not see any illegality or perversity, in the impugned

order and upholding the same, the writ petition is rejected.

[SMT. BHARATI DANGRE, J.]

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