The Delhi High Court has granted divorce to a man, observing that a husband expecting a wife to do household work cannot be termed as cruelty.
The Division Bench of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Neena Bansal Krishna noted that asking a married woman to do household chores cannot be equated to the work of a housekeeper because it would be counted as her love and affection for her family.
These observations were made by the Apex Court while hearing the petition of a CISF member. The appellant contended that he was distressed by his wife’s (respondent) non-contribution to household chores, abandonment of her matrimonial home, and false implications in criminal cases at her behest.
The man had moved the Supreme Court against the order of a family court, which refused to dissolve his marriage on the grounds of cruelty by his wife.
The Apex Court noted that in a marriage, the intent was to share the responsibilities of the future and there was no cruelty if a husband expected his wife to do household chores.
It said that in certain strata, such as the present case, the husband took over the financial obligations and the wife accepted household responsibility.
The appellant further contended in his petition that his wife and her family insisted that he lived separately from his family.
The top court of the country then noted that asking a husband to live separately from his family amounted to cruelty by his wife.
The Bench observed that a son has a moral and legal obligation to take care of his aged parents who have zero or negligible source of income, adding that it wss not desirable in Hindu culture for the son to get separated from his family after marriage.