Delhi HC introduces three affidavits on income and assets of judgment-debtor in execution proceedings

To expedite the disposal of execution proceedings, the Delhi High Court has introduced three additional affidavits which have to be filed by a judgement-debtor to bring on record his/her assets and income. .An order to this effect was passed by a Single Judge Bench of Justice JR Midha..The three new affidavits have been introduced after the Court opined that Form 16A of Appendix E under Order XXI Rule 41(2) of the Code of Civil Procedure was not exhaustive to ascertain all the assets and income of the judgment-debtor..The modified affidavits, as well as the other directions passed by the Court, shall apply to all execution proceedings, such as the execution proceedings under Section 36 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act; Motor Accident Claims Tribunals; proceedings before the SDM empowered to execute decree/award as arrears of land revenue; Debt Recovery Tribunals and Consumer Protection Act..The three affidavits, which are very comprehensive, shall pertain to the following details:- Affidavit of assets and income of the judgment-debtor;- Affidavit of assets and income of a proprietorship firm/partnership firm/HUF/company/trust as a judgment-debtor;- Affidavit of expenditure of the judgment-debtor..In the aforesaid affidavits, the judgment-debtor has to disclose a wide variety of details pertaining to:- his/her occupation, salaried or self-employed,- income from all sources in the last five years; - immovable properties in his name as well as joint names;- all financial assets and investments;- movable assets including motor vehicles, mobiles, computer etc;- intangible assets; garnishee(s)/trade receivables; corporate/business interests etc. .A judgment-debtor is also required to disclose the particulars of all litigations, pending or otherwise, as well as unsatisfied decrees/awards, against him. He is also obligated to inform:- whether he has ever been arrested or kept in detention;- whether any Court has issued bailable/non-bailable warrants against him;- whether he has ever been released on bail/anticipatory bail; - whether he has ever been prosecuted and/or convicted; - whether he has ever been declared as proclaimed offender/proclaimed person. .With respect to the details regarding the judgement-debtor's standard of living and lifestyle, the Court has sought credit/debit cards, membership of clubs and other associations, loyalty programs, social media accounts, frequency of foreign travel, frequent flyer cards, brand of mobile, expenditure ordinarily incurred on family functions, festivals and marriage of family members, etc..Disclosure on expenditure shall include on household expenditure, housing, maintenance of dependents, transport, medical expenditure, entertainment, holiday and vacations, litigation expenses, discharge of liabilities etc. .Delhi HC modifies affidavit of assets, income and expenditure to be filed in matrimonial litigation for maintenance .Some of the directions passed by the Court in relation to execution proceedings are as follows: .- The affidavit shall be filed by the judgment-debtor at the initial stage itself.- In pending execution cases, if the judgment-debtor has not already filed the affidavit of assets and income, the Executing Court shall direct the judgment-debtor to file the affidavit of his assets and income in terms of this judgment.- If any ground for lifting of the corporate veil of a judgment-debtor company is made out as per law, then all the Directors/Promoters (other than independent/non-executive and nominee directors) of the judgment-debtor Company shall be directed to disclose their personal assets and income.- Upon filing of affidavit in Form 16A of Appendix E under Order XXI Rule 41(2) CPC and the new additional affidavits, the decree-holder shall verify the disclosures made in the affidavits, either himself or through an investigator. The Executing Court may also order investigation by a Government Agency including a forensic audit, cost of which shall be borne by the decree-holder.- If the judgment-debtor does not satisfy the decree/award despite having means/capacity to pay, the decree-holder has to file an application for his detention whereupon the Executing Court shall issue a show-cause notice to the judgment-debtor to show cause as to why he should not be committed to civil prison.- Even after release from detention, the judgment-debtor shall remain liable to satisfy the decree/award in terms of Section 58(2) of the Code of Civil Procedure.- In appropriate cases, the Executing Court may direct the garnishee(s) to deposit in Court or permit the decree-holder to inspect all the assets and the records of the judgment-debtor in the presence of the Local Commissioner or appoint a Chartered Accountant as a Local Commissioner to inspect all the records of the judgment-debtor etc. - In case of a false claim/statement in the affidavit, the decree-holder is at liberty to invoke Section 340 Cr.P.C for the prosecution of the judgment-debtor under Section 209 of IPC.- Actual, realistic or proper costs can be imposed on the judgment-debtor.- The Arbitral Tribunals are also empowered to direct a party to file the three affidavits or such of the information from the affidavits as is considered necessary, in the proceedings under Section 17 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act to ascertain the financial capacity/status of a party..The earlier direction with respect to the power of the Executing Court to restrain the judgment-debtor from leaving the country without permission and to impound the passport of the judgment-debtor, are for the present, recalled..The Court has sought from the District Judges the list of all pending execution cases which are more than one year old, by December 31. .It has also asked the Central Government to consider incorporating the three affidavits in the statutes, as in the developed countries. .The Court has placed on record its appreciation for the assistance rendered by Senior Advocate Dayan Krishnan with Advocate Sanjiv Kakra as amici curiae. It has also appreciated the valuable inputs by Senior Advoctaes Rajiv Nayyar, Rajiv Virmani and Advocates Jayant Mehta, Percival Billimoria. .The contribution by Akshay Chowdhary, Law Researcher has also been acknowledged. .The affidavits are attached as Annexures to the judgement. .Read the Judgement: