- Joined
- Oct 2, 2004
- Runs
- 217,991
Pushing a daughter-in-law to do household chores is “not something unusual”, the Kerala High Court observed last week, allowing a plea for divorce filed by a man against his wife.
The woman had refused to live with the man citing ill-treatment by the mother-in-law and exhorted him to move out with her, which the man presented in court as “cruelty”.
“We do not find any other justifiable reason for her to get the petitioner’s mother excluded from the family or to be desirous of having a separate residence to the exclusion of her. The persistence of the respondent (wife) was unbearable for the petitioner,” the judgment authored by justice Mary Joseph noted.
The woman, in turn, had submitted that her mother-in-law used to ill treat her physically and mentally to the extent that she made her do all domestic work even during the convalescent period after a surgical operation.
“No family is totally devoid of clashes among members constituting it. It is common for elders to scold and sometimes abuse youngsters. Making a daughter-in-law do the household/domestic work is also not something unusual”, the bench, which also comprised justice AM Shaffique, noted in response to the wife’s argument.
The plea for divorce was set up by the husband in the family court in 2011 on the grounds of cruelty. The couple had married in 2003 and were parents to a girl child. The husband alleged that the wife had found pleasure in quarrelling with him and his mother. It was also submitted that she threatened to commit suicide after creating cogent materials to trap the husband and his mother.
“She used to call the petitioner ‘dog’ and ‘shameless creature. She used to undermine his person stating that he is not a fit person to be her husband and insult him by beating him in front of his relatives. She also denied the petitioner sex,” it was alleged.
The woman moved out of the house in February 2011.
She, however, opposed the plea for divorce, raising counter allegations of cruelty at the hands of her mother-in-law. It was alleged that on the advice of the mother-in-law, the husband started ill treating her.
The family court ruled in favour of the woman in January 2014 and denied the husband’s petition for divorce which led to the appeal in the high court.
The high court took note of the submissions made by the wife as per which she expressed willingness to live with the husband only if her mother-in-law does not live in the same house.
“The respondent was very particular to have a more comfortable and happy life to the exclusion of the petitioner’s mother, who according to her was the root cause for problems to originate in her matrimonial life,” the court said.
The court also noted that the husband was not a drunkard during the initial days of marriage, but he turned to alcohol after the relationship with the wife hit the rough patch.
“In the case on hand the petitioner’s turning to be a drunkard can only be taken as the natural outcome of the pressure exerted on him by the respondent to have a separate residence to the exclusion of the petitioner’s mother,” the bench stated.
The court, therefore, allowed the husband’s plea and set aside the judgment of family court.
“Evidence indicates that the respondent and the petitioner’s mother were not cordial and clashes were frequent. Therefore, it is natural for the petitioner to be a scapegoat of the indifferences. The torture suffered by him amidst the respondent and his mother was of much gravity and something unbearable for him,” the court said.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/indi...-high-court/story-TZlPUyuGXlvLf93XXidw0M.html
The woman had refused to live with the man citing ill-treatment by the mother-in-law and exhorted him to move out with her, which the man presented in court as “cruelty”.
“We do not find any other justifiable reason for her to get the petitioner’s mother excluded from the family or to be desirous of having a separate residence to the exclusion of her. The persistence of the respondent (wife) was unbearable for the petitioner,” the judgment authored by justice Mary Joseph noted.
The woman, in turn, had submitted that her mother-in-law used to ill treat her physically and mentally to the extent that she made her do all domestic work even during the convalescent period after a surgical operation.
“No family is totally devoid of clashes among members constituting it. It is common for elders to scold and sometimes abuse youngsters. Making a daughter-in-law do the household/domestic work is also not something unusual”, the bench, which also comprised justice AM Shaffique, noted in response to the wife’s argument.
The plea for divorce was set up by the husband in the family court in 2011 on the grounds of cruelty. The couple had married in 2003 and were parents to a girl child. The husband alleged that the wife had found pleasure in quarrelling with him and his mother. It was also submitted that she threatened to commit suicide after creating cogent materials to trap the husband and his mother.
“She used to call the petitioner ‘dog’ and ‘shameless creature. She used to undermine his person stating that he is not a fit person to be her husband and insult him by beating him in front of his relatives. She also denied the petitioner sex,” it was alleged.
The woman moved out of the house in February 2011.
She, however, opposed the plea for divorce, raising counter allegations of cruelty at the hands of her mother-in-law. It was alleged that on the advice of the mother-in-law, the husband started ill treating her.
The family court ruled in favour of the woman in January 2014 and denied the husband’s petition for divorce which led to the appeal in the high court.
The high court took note of the submissions made by the wife as per which she expressed willingness to live with the husband only if her mother-in-law does not live in the same house.
“The respondent was very particular to have a more comfortable and happy life to the exclusion of the petitioner’s mother, who according to her was the root cause for problems to originate in her matrimonial life,” the court said.
The court also noted that the husband was not a drunkard during the initial days of marriage, but he turned to alcohol after the relationship with the wife hit the rough patch.
“In the case on hand the petitioner’s turning to be a drunkard can only be taken as the natural outcome of the pressure exerted on him by the respondent to have a separate residence to the exclusion of the petitioner’s mother,” the bench stated.
The court, therefore, allowed the husband’s plea and set aside the judgment of family court.
“Evidence indicates that the respondent and the petitioner’s mother were not cordial and clashes were frequent. Therefore, it is natural for the petitioner to be a scapegoat of the indifferences. The torture suffered by him amidst the respondent and his mother was of much gravity and something unbearable for him,” the court said.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/indi...-high-court/story-TZlPUyuGXlvLf93XXidw0M.html
