Delhi District Court
Dhiraj Singh Thapa vs Ekta Singh Thapa on 15 January, 2026
IN THE COURT OF ANURAG THAKUR
ADDL. SESSIONS JUDGE (FTC): EAST DISTRICT
KARKARDOOMA COURTS: DELHI
CRIMINAL APPEAL No. 226/2025
IN THE MATTER OF:
Dhiraj Singh Thapa
S/o Mohan Singh Thapa,
R/o Flat No. 579, Sector 28,
Noida, U.P.-201301. .....Appellant
Versus
Ekta Singh Thapa
W/o Dhiraj Singh Thapa,
R/o C-217, East End Apartment,
Mayur Vihar Extension, Phase-I,
New Delhi-110096. .....Respondent
Instituted on : 12.09.2025
Reserved on : 06.01.2026
Pronounced on : 15.01.2026
JUDGMENT
1. This appeal has been preferred under Section 29 of the Pro- tection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (hereinafter re- ferred as DV Act) assailing order dated 31.07.2025 passed by the court of learned JMFC (Mahila Court-02), East, KKD, Delhi, whereby the ap- pellant was directed to pay Rs.1,20,000/- to the respondent as interim maintenance (for meeting education expenses of minor daughter and for C.A. No. 226/25 Dhiraj Singh Thapa vs Ekta Singh Thapa Page 1 of 11 Digitally signed ANURAG by ANURAG THAKUR THAKUR 22:38:58 Date: 2026.01.15 +05'30' expenses towards lodging, medical, clothing, travel/holidays, shopping and other miscellaneous expenses of both daughters).
2. Vide order dated 31.07.2025, the trial court had directed as follows:-
20. In view of the discussion above, this court directs the respon-
dent shall continue to bear the educational expense of eldest daughter till she completes her education. Respondent is further directed to pay Rs. 1,20,000/- to petitioner (for meeting the education expens- es of minor daughter and for expenses towards lodging, medical, clothing, travel/holidays, shopping and other miscellaneous ex- penses of both the daughters) to be paid on 10th or before every month. The petitioner is directed to open a separate and joint account with both her daughters within 3 weeks of this order. The interim maintenance shall be deposited in the said bank account by R1. This amount shall be payable from the date of the filing of the petition i.e. 25.05.2023 till completion of minor daughter's education. The arrears shall be calculated @ Rs. 80,000/- per month, to be cleared in 06 months. The arrears to be transferred in same bank account and pe- tition shall make two FDRs in name of minor daughter of the amount received towards arrears which shall be utilized by her for higher edu- cation of minor daughter. Petitioner shall keep record of all expenses made from said joint account and shall produce the same as and when directed. The above said interim maintenance shall be adjustable to the amount, if any, the petitioner or the minor daughter is getting to- wards maintenance from the R1 in any proceedings.
This order has inter alia been assailed on the grounds that (i) the same is arbitrarily, perverse, erroneous and is against the settled principles of law; (ii) there is no finding of domestic violence purportedly committed by husband; (iii) there is no document showing that wife was incurring expenses of Rs.1,20,000/- p.m. towards maintenance of both daughters;
(iv) the maintenance of Rs.40,000/- p.m. already being paid by the hus- band is sufficient to take care of all monthly expenses of both daughters;
(v) the wife has not approached the court with clean hands as she has not filed her ITRs and falsely claimed her salary as Rs.1,26,950/- despite C.A. No. 226/25 Dhiraj Singh Thapa vs Ekta Singh Thapa Page 2 of 11 ANURAG Digitally signed by ANURAG THAKUR THAKUR 22:39:25 +05'30' Date: 2026.01.15 earning Rs.1,46,000/- p.m.; (vi) the trial court did not have the territorial jurisdiction to entertain the petition u/s 12 of the DV Act; and lastly, (vii) the entire educational expenses of the elder daughter are being paid by the husband and the remaining expenditure incurred on both daughters is not more than Rs.30,000/- per month so maintenance granted is exces- sive. It is prayed by the husband that the impugned order dated 31.07.2025 be set-aside.
3. Upon receipt of notice of appeal, the respondent appeared and filed reply wherein she gave details of husband's salary, his fixed deposits, mutual funds, commutation of pension, encashment of accumu- lated leave, provident funds, stocks, sale of movable properties and his various immovable properties. She also reiterated the allegations of do- mestic violence. She pleaded that a DV Act petition can be filed in a court within whose jurisdiction the 'person aggrieved' permanently or temporarily resides or carries on business or is employed. She also con- tended that in cases where after the alleged acts of violence, the victim moves to her parent's house, she can file the petition in the court of the nearest Magistrate. She disclosed that at the time of filing of petition, she was residing with her parents at Mayur Vihar, therefore, the court having jurisdiction over PS Mayur Vihar was competent to entertain and dispose of petition filed under the DV Act. She prayed that the appeal filed by the husband be dismissed being vexatious and umerited.
4. I have cogitated over the rival submissions and perused the entire material available on record including the TCR. My observations on the issues agitated are delineated hereinafter.
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5. In appeal, the husband/appellant submitted the following ta- bles showing the expenses being incurred on the maintenance of both the daughters at the time of filing of DV Act complaint:-
Total Expenses of Younger Daugher at the time of filing the complaint.
S.No Particulars Amount 1. Hostel fee for April, 2023 to October 2023 Rs.74,000/-
2. APS Noida, School fee paid for the session 2022-23 Rs.79,296/-
3. Hostel fee for November, 2023 to March 2024 Rs.61,500/-
4. Hostel fee April 2022 to October 2022 Rs.72,350/-
5. Medical expenditure on 30.04.2022 Rs.990/-
Total expenditure as per the documents relied upon by the respondent Rs.2,88,136 Total Expenses of Elder Daughter at the time of filing the complaint S.No. Particulars Amounts
1. Fee payable at Shiv Nadar University (admittedly being Rs.3,27,660/-
paid by the Respondent) per annum
2. Medical expenditure incurred on 27.01.2023 Rs.3,360.83/-
3. Driving school expenditure Rs.7,500/-
a. July - Rs.3,500/-
b.August - Rs.2,000/-
c. July - Rs.2,000/-
4. Fee paid to CLAT possible in the year 2020 Rs.40,000/-
(one time) Total expenditure as per the documents relied upon by Rs.3,79,300.83 respondent (-) Minus the amounts admittedly paid by the respondent Rs.3,27,660.00 Total expenditure purportedly incurred by the respondent alone for the years 2020 till 2023 Rs.51,640.83
6. As regards the interim maintenance, the High Court of Delhi in the case of Kanupriya Sharma vs State, 2019 SCC Online Del. 8816; observed as under:-
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21. An application under Section 23(1) of the D.V. Act is an application for fixing interim maintenance. Interim maintenance is fixed on taking a prima facie view of the matter. Serious disputed questions of facts raised at that stage, requiring evidence cannot be gone into...........
The grant of interim maintenance depends on a multitude of factors like status of parties, reasonable wants of claimant, independent income of claimant, payment capacity of non-applicant, non-applicant's liabilities, provision for food, clothing, shelter, education etc. of applicant. Some guess work cannot be ruled out while estimating the income of non- applicant when all sources or correct sources are not disclosed [See Bharat Hegde vs Saroj Hegde (2007) 140 DLT 16]. In the case of Rajnesh vs Neha and Anr., (2021) 2 SCC 324; the Apex court made the following observations about exercise of grant of maintenance:-
(d) Maintenance of minor children:
91. The living expenses of the child would include expenses for food, clothing, residence, medical expenses, education of children.
Extra coaching classes or any other vocational training courses to compliment the basic education must be factored in while awarding child support. Albeit, it should be a reasonable amount to be awarded for extra curricular/coaching classes and not an overly extravagant amount which may be claimed.
92. Educational expenses of the children must be normally borne by the father. If the wife is working and earning sufficiently, the expenses may be shared proprotionalely between the parties. The High Court of Delhi in the case of Annurita Vohra vs Sandeep Vohra, 110 (2004) DLT 546; laid down guidelines to be followed while deciding the quantum of maintenance. It directed that the family resource cake should be cut up and distributed amongst the members of the family. The apportionment of the cake must be in consonance with the financial requirement of the family members. It was held that a satisfactory approach would be to divide the family resource cake in two portions to the husband since he has to incur extra expenses in the course C.A. No. 226/25 Dhiraj Singh Thapa vs Ekta Singh Thapa Page 5 of 11 Digitally signed ANURAG by ANURAG THAKUR THAKUR Date: 2026.01.15 22:40:32 +05'30' of making his earnings and one share each to other members. The principle of apportionment has been reiterated and reaffirmed by the High Court of Delhi in the case of Nitin Sharma vs Sunita Sharma, 2021 SCC Online DEL 694.
7. The respondent was given opportunity to show from record the total household expenses incurred by her every month. However, she was not able to show expenses exceeding Rs.60,000/- per month from her bank account statements placed on record for the years 2022 and 2023. However, she submitted that as she was single-handedly incurring expenditure on both the daughters (in 2022 and 2023), so discretionary expenditure was reduced to a bare minimum and expenditure only on ne- cessities of life was incurred. This statement of the respondent cannot be brushed away and some credence has to be given to the same. Further- more, it has also to be taken into account that those bank account state- ments of the respondent were of the year 2022 and 2023, and the expen- diture would have increased in recent years owing to the inflation and the fact that the daughters are growing up and naturally their needs and wants are increasing accordingly.
8. Admittedly, the elder daughter of the parties is no longer a minor but she is still pursuing her graduation, so she cannot be expected by her parents to maintain herself. Naturally, the parents would want the child to devote undivided attention to studies and other academic activi- ties, so that the child may excel in those endeavours. Indubitably, the DV Act is a beneficial legislation and wherever possible, efforts should be made to further the object of this statute. DV Act is a measure of social C.A. No. 226/25 Dhiraj Singh Thapa vs Ekta Singh Thapa Page 6 of 11 Digitally signed ANURAG by ANURAG THAKUR THAKUR Date: 2026.01.15 22:40:52 +05'30' justice and is enacted to protect women and children. One of the objects of maintenance is to provide same living conditions to the children as they would have enjoyed in the household had the parents not separated. It is unlikely that in normal circumstances, the appellant (who earns about 4.5 lacs a month) would not have maintained his daughter and would have asked her to earn/fend for herself the moment she attained majority. Notably, it is the mother who is taking care of both the daugh- ters on a daily basis and both the daughters also reside with her. Hence, taking into consideration the physical and mental effort being made by the mother, the father is asked to contribute towards the expenses of maintaining the elder daughter also. This court is cognizant of the fact that appellant is voluntarily paying entire college fee of elder daughter but the income of appellant is at least three times the income of respon- dent and it would be imprudent to ask respondent to contribute monetari- ly to the monthly expenses of either daughter.
9. In the impugned order, the evaluation of income, assets and expenditure of both the parties was done by the court in the following manner:-
13. Before proceeding further, it is pertinent to highlight certain undisputed facts:
1. The relationship between the parties.
2. The petitioner has been receiving Rs. 40,000/-
monthly since August 2023 for the maintenance of both daughters.
3. The petitioner owns two immovable properties- one in her sole name and one held jointly.
4. The respondent has joint ownership of two immov- able properties: a flat at ATS Allure, land at Pristine Greens, Dehradun, and has booked a flat at Waves So- ciety, Sector 32, Noida.
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5. The net monthly salary of the petitioner is Rs. 1,45,000/-, while the respondent receives a gross salary of Rs. 3,28,000/- along with a pension of Rs.
1,09,000/-.
6. The respondent's mother operates a beauty parlor and owns two shops in Noida. She is the widow of re- tired army personnel.
7. The educational expenses of the eldest daughter are primarily borne by the respondent (excluding part of the college fee reportedly paid by the petitioner in July 2023).
14. ........
15. ........
16. Similarly, there is noticeable inconsistency in petition- er's claims. Her bank records show a regular monthly debit of ₹20,406 towards PNB Housing, which ceased after August 2021. The state- ments also reveal consistent monthly debits of ₹11,160/- from 2020 to 2023 to LIC Housing Finance, whereas only three debits ranging be- tween ₹10,000-20,000/- are observed towards the SBI Home Loan. Additionally, documents confirm that the car loan, initiated on 10th February 2023, involves an EMI of 12,754/- per month. Thus, the bank statements do not support the petitioner's claim of a continuous EMI burden of ₹50,000/- per month; the current EMIs total approxi- mately 24,000 monthly. Her ITR for AY 2022-23 reveals a gross salary of ₹14,52,412/-. As per her own averment in petition, she bought her first car, a Hyundai i10, in 2010. Account statements span- ning three years from 2020 to 2022 indicate that average monthly credit card payments increased from ₹21,500 to ₹26,750, and average monthly ATM withdrawals rose from ₹7,500 to ₹14,000. Additionally, ICICI bank statements reflect systematic investments (SIPs of ₹5,000/month), a fixed deposit of 1 lakh, a contribution of ₹50,000 to the NPS, and a single insurance premium payment of ₹1.25 lakh.
17. The petitioner has not provided documentation to sub- stantiate her claimed monthly expenses of Rs. 5 lakhs, nor has she presented evidence verifying the respondent's alleged monthly income inflow of Rs. 10 lakhs. However, based on their self-declarations and even accounting for the petitioner's ownership of a self-acquired flat, a 50% share in land in Dehradun, regular systematic investments, her net monthly income of approximately ₹1.4 lakh remains substantially lower than the respondent's combined monthly income of approxi- mately ₹ 4.37 lakh (Rs. 3,28,000 gross salary plus Rs. 1,09,000 pen- sion), his fixed deposits amounting to ₹1.38 crore, and an extensive portfolio of unsold properties. The respondent's financial records demonstrate his ability to manage and reinvest substantial sums in eq- uities and rapidly repay significant debts, showcasing financial agility markedly superior to the petitioner's. Consequently, a substantial fi-
C.A. No. 226/25 Dhiraj Singh Thapa vs Ekta Singh Thapa Page 8 of 11 Digitally signedANURAG by ANURAG THAKUR THAKUR Date: 2026.01.15 22:41:30 +05'30' nancial disparity persists, with the respondent possessing approxi- mately three times the recurring monthly income and significantly greater liquid assets and real estate holdings compared to the petition- er.
Broadly, the aforementioned assessment made by the trial court cannot be faulted. An interesting fact worth mentioning is that the appellant has got 50% of his retiring pension (Rs.56,275/- per month) commuted and hence his pension of Rs.1,09,000/- has to be seen in that light. Had this pension not been commuted then undoubtedly the monthly income of the appellant would have been even more. The claim by the appellant that his mother is financially dependent upon him is not found to be gen- uine as his mother appears to have sufficient assets and financial re- sources to sustain herself.
10. In terms of Annurita Vohra (supra), the family cake in this case would consist of monthly income of Rs.6 lacs. Even keeping two portions of the income (earned by him) exclusively for husband and also accounting for the substantial taxes that he would pay on his handsome income, in no case the share of younger daughter would come to less than about a lac of rupees per month. Though, the expenses incurred on both the daughters has not exceeded Rs.1,00,000/- in any month but this court cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that earlier the income of the re- spondent was much less than Rs.1,45,000/- and after deductions of EMIs of Home Loan, Car Loan, Medical Insurance etc, she was left with dis- posable income of about a lakh in which she had to maintain herself and her daughters as well as to save some money for a rainy day. So the question of spending a lakh a month on the daughters never arose.
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11. During the course of arguments, the learned counsel for the appellant was asked whether the appellant was willing to give an under- taking to pay all future educational expenses/fee of the younger daughter but the appellant answered in the negative by raising the apprehension that the younger daughter may take admission in an institution having a exorbitant fee and the appellant may be saddled with the same or may al- together not be able to afford the same.
12. The issues of jurisdiction and prima facie findings of do- mestic violence, though mentioned as grounds for assailing the order of trial court, have not been pressed. But it is sufficient to note that before the trial court as well as before this court, the address of the respondent/wife is of Mayur Vihar Extension which falls within the ju- risdiction of the trial court which passed the order. Similarly, from read- ing of the petition filed before the trial court it can be safely stated that the wife has made out a prima facie case of ill-treatment, harassment, humiliation and abuse. It is also mentioned that she was rudely asked to leave the home on raising any objection. Hence, the aforementioned grounds of challenge to the order do not hold water.
13. From the table reproduced in point no.5 of this order, it can be seen that just the annual school fee and hostel charges of the younger daughter for an academic year were Rs.2,15,000/-. The other expenses of both the daughters incurred on their clothing, travel/holidays, shop- ping, extra-curricular activities, coaching classes, pocket money and miscellaneous expenditure would have been borne by the respondent and would have drained her already limited financial resources. Clearly, the C.A. No. 226/25 Dhiraj Singh Thapa vs Ekta Singh Thapa Page 10 of 11 Digitally signed ANURAG by ANURAG THAKUR THAKUR 22:42:17 Date: 2026.01.15 +05'30' respondent was spending money equal to appellant (if not more) on the daughters despite only earning one third of the earning of appellant. In the facts and circumstances of the case, it appears that the trial court de- spite having noted that the expenses incurred by respondent were not more than Rs.40,000/- to Rs.50,000/- per month, awarded maintenance of Rs.1,20,000/- in addition to payment of educational expenses of elder daughter. This court deems it appropriate to reduce the interim mainte- nance amount of Rs.1,20,000/- per month to Rs.1,00,000/- a month and the arrears of maintenance shall be paid/cleared within 60 days from to- day. The amount paid by the appellant (upon the directions given by this court during the course of this appeal) shall be adjusted from the mainte- nance payable for the month in which the payment was made. Appellant shall continue to bear the educational expenses of elder daughter till she completes her graduation. The remaining directions given by trial court in Paragraph 20 of the impugned order shall be strictly adhered to. Inter- im order, if any passed by this court stands vacated.
14. A copy of this judgment be sent to the trial court or its suc- cessor court for information and compliance. TCR be also sent back to the court concerned within three working days.
Digitally signedDictated and announced ANURAG by ANURAG
THAKUR
THAKUR Date: 2026.01.15
in open Court on 15th January, 2026 22:42:42 +05'30'
Anurag Thakur
Addl. Sessions Judge (FTC) East
Karkardooma Courts, Delhi
This judgment consists of 11 pages
and each and every page of this
judgment is signed by me.
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