Narendra Versus K. Meena
Civil appeal No. 3253 of 2008
After the marriage, a Hindu Wife is expected to be with the family of the husband
Supreme Court has ruled that a Hindu son can legally Divorce his Wife for the cruelty in case she try to separate him away from his “pious religious obligation” to physically live with his aged parents and provide them care and shelter. After marriage a Hindu woman becomes a part of the husband’s family and as such she cannot seek to separate him from his aged parents for trivial reasons like she wants to enjoy her Husband’s income all alone.
Apex Court Bench of Justices Anil R. Dave and L. Nageshwara Rao gave this path breaking judgment. Judgment said that such like insistence of asking husband to live separately from his parents is not an Indian concept but is rather a Western thought and is alien to our culture and ethos.
Justice Dave wrote in his Judgment that is not a desirable culture or a common practice for a Hindu son in Indian subcontinent to get separated from his old parents upon getting married on the asking of the wife. Parents rear and give education to a son and he has a moral and legal obligation to take care and maintain the parents, when they become old. Generally we Indian people do not subscribe to the Western thoughts which has a Culture of separation of a Son from the family post Marriage, the court said.
Bench stressed that under normal circumstances, a Hindu wife is expected to be with the family of the husband after the marriage as she becomes integral to and forms part of the family of the husband.
The respondent wife wanted the appellant to get separated from his family. The evidence shows that the family was virtually maintained from the income of the appellant husband.
In the opinion of the High Court, the wife had a legitimate expectation to see that the income of her husband is used for her and not for the family members of the respondent husband. SC do not see any reason to justify the said view of the High Court
Court was confirmed the divorce of a Karnataka-based couple Married in 1992. Lower court had granted the divorce on husband ‘s asking after he alleged cruelty on his wife’s part. High Court had set aside the decree of divorce giving precedence to Right of Wife on Husband’s income.
Credit Advocate Manoj Chaudhari.