Opinion! Calcutta HC Should Reconsider Its Judgement On The Statement "Husband can divorce wife on cruelty grounds if she ‘separates’ him from parents"

India is incredible! In all its ways for its religious and spirituality it is the renowned country. For travel, food, its different cultures living together. And moreover for its values and morals which is holded by one and passed on to his or generation.

One of them is marriage which is considered to be very auspicious in India. As in India the marriage isn’t considered to be just tying knots between two person, but among two cultures and families, which will be inherited by further generations.

The big fat Indian weddings are really the great deal in this country. Its not just about having a ceremony or event but the emotions related to it are very much sensitive. Where the bride has to leave her home and family and has to make a new family with the groom. Both stays together with the grooms family.

But why the only girl has to leave the her family, why not the boy too? The question is an ever going argument. If one has to leave his old family, then why not the other? It’s not that only the female has to struggle ofcourse the male also has to make adjustments, on their levels.

Picking up the same relatable issue of home-fights; The Calcutta high court cited “pious obligation” in their ruling that a husband could file for divorce on grounds of mental cruelty if his wife compelled him to separate from his parents. “To live and maintain the parents (was) absolutely normal in Indian culture and ethos,” the court added.

On March 31^st, the bench, composed of Justices Soumen Sen and Uday Kumar, denied a woman’s plea challenging a 2009 family court’s decision granting her husband divorce on grounds of cruelty. The bench added that, “the desire of the appellant to have a separate residence with her husband away from in-laws is not based on justifiable reasons; as such, it amounts to cruelty.”

First of all; I don’t understand why the groom’s side is considered to be so dominating, and why the bride’s side themselves considered as the inferior one? If the relationship is happening between two families then it should be at the equal level. The equality isn’t only about the financial or caste or background basis, what more important is the understanding between two families and support and acceptance.

Both the families must be accepting enough, to manage the misunderstandings and quarrels. Should handle the problems with maturity.

In 2016, the Supreme Court allowed a similar plea for divorce, emphasizing the “cruelty” in forcing the separation of husband from his parents, adding that “… one can imagine how a poor husband would get entangled in the clutches of law, which would virtually ruin his sanity, peace of mind, career, and probably his entire life.” This attitude, adopted by several of the highest judges and courts in the land, indicate a deeper issue in Indian culture: the infantilization of adult men.

Feminist scholars have pointed out how patrilineal cultures – where inheritance is passed down through the male line – create joint family structures that keep wives obligated to in-laws in ways that aren’t reciprocated. It’s a structure that’s deeply embedded in our laws and societal ethos, to the extent that marriage is often intertwined with rigid family norms that privilege the husband and his natal family over everyone else.

As mentioned here, asking for husband to have a separate home is not a mental torture. And if the man is not earning enough or capable enough that he can afford a basic good life for his family then he should rethink about getting married. Also the guy and the lady both should be allowed to earn, if the financial needs are not getting fulfilled.

If a woman can leave her family behind, as she “have to” according to the society, then asking for this much is not a mental torture at all. It’s not just that only the girl has to suffer in in-laws house. If treated right no daughter in-law would ask to live separately.

There might be other reasons, such as – if the children are growing and they need their space, or any other similar one. Calcutta High Court should definitely reconsider its judgement. As giving the divorce is a not a great solution.