Disclosure comes before argument
In Rajnesh v. Neha (2021) 2 SCC 324, the Supreme Court directed that both parties to a maintenance application file a standard-form affidavit disclosing income, assets and liabilities. Courts now expect this affidavit as a matter of course, and an incomplete or evasive one is usually the first thing opposing counsel attacks. Payslips, income tax returns for the preceding three years, bank statements and any property documents should be gathered before the application is filed, not after the other side asks for them.
How quantum is worked out
There is no fixed formula. Courts weigh the income and reasonable needs of the claimant against the respondent's income and existing financial commitments, including a second household where one exists. The Rajnesh judgment confirmed that maintenance ordinarily runs from the date the application was filed, not from the date of the order, which is a material point given how long these applications can take to be heard. Interim maintenance is usually decided within a few months; the final order can take considerably longer.
Custody follows the child, not the parent
Custody and guardianship applications are decided on what the court considers to be in the child's welfare, a standard that considers stability, schooling, the child's own wishes where the child is old enough to express them, and the conduct of each parent, rather than treating custody as a reward for the parent who was less at fault in the marriage. Interim custody and visitation arrangements are often put in place while the main petition is pending, and how a party conducts themselves during that period is noticed by the court.
Domestic violence remedies run alongside, not instead of, divorce
An application under the Domestic Violence Act is a separate proceeding from a divorce petition, and it is common for both to be pending together. The Act allows for protection orders, a right to reside in the shared household, and monetary relief, and it is available to a woman regardless of whether she also seeks a divorce. Common mistakes include filing this application as a purely tactical step without an underlying factual basis, which tends to weaken it, and delaying it so long that its urgency is no longer credible to the court.
