CRL.M.C. 6773/2026 $~73 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI # CNR No. DLHC010432812026 + CRL.M.C. 6773/2026 ALI MUZAFFAR .....Petitioner Through: Mr. Ganesh Sharma, Adv. with petitioner in person. (through VC) versus JEBA KHAN .....Respondent Through: Mr. Shahid Ali, Mr. Sameer Tayyeb, Mohd Salman, Ms. Zaheen Fatima, Mr. Nazar Hussain, Mr. Ahmad Saeed, Advs. (through VC) CORAM: HON’BLE MS. JUSTICE MADHU JAIN O R D E R % 14.09.2026 1. This hearing has been done through hybrid mode. 2. The present petition has been filed under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘BNSS’), by the petitioner seeking directions to the learned Family Court, Patiala House Courts, New Delhi, for expeditious adjudication of his pending application under Section 94 BNSS in MNT No. 17/2025, and for protection against further execution of the interim maintenance order dated 26.02.2026 in Ex. No. 24/2026. MNT No. 17/2025 is a maintenance petition filed by the respondent under Section 144 BNSS. 3. The petitioner and the respondent are both stated to be advocates by profession. During the proceedings in the maintenance case, both parties filed income affidavits. According to the petitioner, the respondent, in her first This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 15/09/2026 at 12:34:01 CRL.M.C. 6773/2026 income affidavit dated 15.01.2025, disclosed herself as having no income, while subsequently filing an amended income affidavit declaring an income of Rs.5,000/- per month. The petitioner alleges that the respondent had not disclosed a Bank of Baroda account and immovable property situated at Kanpur. 4. The petitioner thereafter filed an application under Section 94 BNSS seeking production of the relevant bank records relating to the Bank of Baroda account and certified land and registration records concerning the property situated at Kanpur. In the reply dated 15.07.2026, the respondent is stated to have admitted ownership of the said property and the Bank of Baroda account. 5. The learned Family Court, however, passed an order dated 26.02.2026 directing the petitioner to pay interim maintenance of Rs.7,500/- per month to the respondent. The petitioner states that his application under Section 94 BNSS, though filed prior to the said order, continues to remain pending. 6. Thereafter, the respondent filed Execution Petition No. 24/2026 for enforcement of the interim maintenance order. In the execution proceedings, vide order dated 16.07.2026, despite the petitioner pointing out the pendency of the Section 94 BNSS application, the learned Family Court directed him to make payment of the due amount before the next date of hearing, observing that there was no stay on the interim maintenance order. 7. The respondent has also filed a CRL. REV. P. (MAT.) 441/2026 before this Court seeking enhancement of the maintenance awarded by the learned Family Court. 8. Accordingly, the petitioner has approached this Court seeking expeditious adjudication of his pending application under Section 94 BNSS and appropriate orders in relation to the execution proceedings. This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 15/09/2026 at 12:34:01 CRL.M.C. 6773/2026 SUBMISSIONS ON BEHALF OF THE PETITIONER 9. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the application under Section 94 BNSS goes to the root of the question of the respondent's actual financial position, as the petitioner has disputed the disclosures made by her in the income affidavits and has sought production of her bank records and property documents. It is submitted that the said application was filed before the passing of the interim maintenance order dated 26.02.2026 and has still not been adjudicated. 10. Learned counsel submits that the respondent initially declared her income as nil and thereafter disclosed an income of Rs.5,000/- per month, while, according to the petitioner, failing to disclose her Bank of Baroda account and immovable property at Kanpur. It is argued that the subsequent admission of the bank account and property in the reply dated 15.07.2026 makes adjudication of the petitioner's application under Section 94 BNSS necessary before the execution proceedings are allowed to proceed further. 11. Learned counsel further submits that the respondent's conduct is in disregard of the guidelines laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Rajnesh v. Neha, (2021) 2 SCC 324, as she filed two income affidavits containing differing disclosures regarding her income. 12. Learned counsel further submits that continuation of the execution proceedings, while the application seeking production of the relevant financial records remains pending, causes prejudice to the petitioner and may result in multiplicity of proceedings. SUBMISSIONS ON BEHALF OF THE RESPONDENT: 13. Learned counsel for the respondent opposes the present petition and submits that the application under Section 94 BNSS was not filed at an initial This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 15/09/2026 at 12:34:01 CRL.M.C. 6773/2026 stage of the proceedings, but when the arguments on the application for interim maintenance had already been addressed and the matter was fixed for orders. It is submitted that, for this reason, the learned Family Court rightly proceeded to pronounce the order on interim maintenance and directed the parties to address the application under Section 94 BNSS separately thereafter. 14. Learned counsel further submits that the respondent has already filed a reply to the application under Section 94 BNSS and, therefore, the said application is pending for adjudication before the learned Family Court. 15. Learned counsel for the respondent further submits that the petitioner has not complied even with the interim maintenance order dated 26.02.2026 directing payment of Rs.7,500/- per month. It is submitted that an execution petition has consequently been filed, wherein arrears of maintenance have been claimed, and the petitioner cannot seek to stall the execution of a subsisting order on the ground that his application under Section 94 BNSS is yet to be decided. ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS: 16. This Court has considered the submissions made by learned counsel for the parties and perused the material on record. 17. The grievance of the petitioner, in the present petition, is limited to the pendency of his application under Section 94 BNSS before the learned Family Court. The said application seeks production of bank records and land records which, according to the petitioner, are relevant for determination of the respondent's financial position. The application is admittedly pending adjudication. 18. It is noticed that while the application under Section 94 BNSS was This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 15/09/2026 at 12:34:01 CRL.M.C. 6773/2026 pending, the learned Family Court proceeded to decide the application for interim maintenance on 26.02.2026. The order records that arguments on the application for interim maintenance had already been heard and the matter had been fixed for orders. The learned Family Court thereafter directed the parties to complete pleadings in respect of the Section 94 BNSS application and fixed the matter for its consideration. 19. In these circumstances, no occasion arises for this Court to express any opinion on the merits of the rival allegations regarding the disclosures of income or assets made by the respondent. The same are matters to be considered by the learned Family Court while adjudicating the pending application under Section 94 BNSS and the proceedings before it. 20. At the same time, since the said application has remained pending and the documents sought therein are stated to be relevant to the financial dispute between the parties, it would be appropriate in the interest of justice that the learned Family Court considers and decides the application expeditiously, after affording due opportunity to both sides, in accordance with law. 21. Accordingly, the present petition is allowed to the limited extent that the learned Family Court, Patiala House Courts, New Delhi, shall endeavour to decide the petitioner's pending application under Section 94 BNSS in MNT No. 17/2025 expeditiously, preferably on the next date already fixed for the said application, subject to the Court's docket and in accordance with law. 22. It is, however, made clear that there shall be no stay of the execution proceedings in Ex. No. 24/2026 or of the proceedings in MNT No. 17/2025, including the operation of the interim maintenance order dated 26.02.2026. The petitioner shall remain bound by the said order unless the same is modified, stayed or otherwise interfered with by a competent court. This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 15/09/2026 at 12:34:01 CRL.M.C. 6773/2026 23. The present petition, along with the pending application, if any, stands disposed of in the aforesaid terms. 24. The order be uploaded on the website forthwith. MADHU JAIN, J SEPTEMBER 14, 2026/ys/P This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 15/09/2026 at 12:34:01