The Delhi High Court in its recent order observed that a husband expecting his wife to do household chores cannot be termed as cruelty.
The High Court was hearing an appeal filed by the husband against a family court order that rejected his plea to dissolve marriage on grounds of cruelty by wife, reported Live Law.
Case:
Couple got married in 2007 and was blessed with a son in 2008. The husband works as a CISF officer, while the wife is a homemaker.
The husband had made arrangements for a separate home due to differences between wife and his parents, however, the problems did not end.
Subsequently, the husband filed for divorce on grounds of cruelty. Since the same was rejected by Family Court, the husband challenged the order in Delhi High Court.
Allegations by Husband
According to the husband, the marriage was rocky from day 1 due to the “quarrelsome and uncompromising conduct” of the wife towards him and his family members. The husband also alleged that his wife was reluctant to perform household chores and was not willing to take any responsibility.
Defense by Wife
The wife in her submissions denied all allegations and instead claimed that though she performed all household chores, her husband and his family were not satisfied.
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Delhi High Court
A division bench comprising Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Neena Bansal Krishna heard the parties and observed that when the parties enter into wedlock, their intent is to share the responsibilities of future life. The bench said:
In a catena of decisions, it has already been held that if a married woman is asked to do household work, the same cannot be equated to the work of a maid servant and shall be counted as her love and affection for her family.
The Bench further added:
In certain strata, the husband takes over the financial obligations and wife accepts house hold responsibility. Such is the present case. Even if appellant (husband) expected the respondent (wife) to do household chores, it cannot be termed as cruelty.
With regards to separate residence provided by husband for the wife, the High Court noted that the husband had even “bowed to the desires of the wife” and arranged for a separate accommodation to save his matrimonial life.
The bench went on to observe that though the wife lived in a separate accommodation, she would always move back to live with her parental home. To this, the High Court said:
Relevantly, the appellant is a member of Force i.e. CISF and he has to be away on duty. The respondent on one pretext or the other abandoned her matrimonial home and lived with her parents.
On one hand respondent denied to live with her in-laws and over it, she chose to frequently live with her parents. To nurture the matrimonial bond, it is of high significance that parties to live together and avoid leaving each other‟s company frequently.
Wife Also Kept Husband Away From Son
The High Court has even called out Parental Alienation that the wife had been committing between her husband and their son. The bench said:
The husband, by arranging separate accommodations tried his best to keep the wife happy, however, by choosing to stay with her parents, she not only ignored her matrimonial obligations but also deprived the husband of his fatherhood by keeping him away from his son.
The Court concluded that the wife had no intention to live as a joint family and kept visiting her parents’ home frequently.
Dissolving the marriage and reversing the Family Court order, the High Court granted divorce to the husband on the grounds of cruelty by his wife, under Section 13(1) (ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.
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Husband Expecting Wife To Do Household Work Cannot Be Equated To Work Of Maid Servant: Delhi High Court
▪️HC: "Wife not only ignored her matrimonial obligations but also deprived husband of his fatherhood by keeping him away from his son"#VoiceForMenhttps://t.co/D3uupiZoIK
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