The Delhi High Court has dismissed a plea from a man seeking an income tax investigation into the financial activities of his estranged wife’s family, including alleged dowry transactions and wedding expenses.
The bench, led by Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, delivered the ruling on February 19, determining that the petition stemmed from a “matrimonial feud” rather than a violation of fundamental or statutory rights. The court noted that the man’s counsel failed to specify any legal grounds under which the petitioner’s rights were infringed.
The plea had called for the Income Tax Department to probe into an alleged ₹2 crore in cash transactions and additional expenditures related to the couple’s 2022 wedding. The man also demanded a review of the family’s income tax returns and financial records over the past decade, seeking action against any discovered instances of perjury, tax evasion, or financial misconduct.
However, the judges pointed out that the complexities and disputed facts presented in the case were beyond the scope of what the Income Tax Department could resolve, and similarly, these issues could not be adjudicated under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.
The court further observed that the petitioner seemed to be engaging in a “roving and fishing inquiry,” which it deemed impermissible. “Clearly, the complaint was not under a statutory scheme or a regulatory mechanism available under the Income Tax Act, 1961, thus the question of non-response to such complaint constituting violation of fundamental right or even a civil or statutory right of the petitioner, is non-existent. The said submission is unmerited,” the judgment read.
