A recent verdict by the Jharkhand High Court may upset the feminists who have been targeting men on the issue of divorce and alimony for so long.
Justice Subhash Chand commented on the role of the wife in Indian families, taking references from the sacred scriptures like Manusmriti and Yajurveda. He was hearing the arguments against the ruling by a family court directing Rudra Narayan Rai to pay Rs 30,000 to his wife and Rs 15,000 to his son each month after the divorce.
Rudra Narayan said that the reason for their divorce was his wife’s demand to leave his parents and live separately with her. The wife alleged that her husband and in-laws had mistreated her and tortured her for dowry.
Justice Subhash Chand commented ‘It is the culture in India to serve the old-aged mother-in-law or grandmother-in-law, as the case may be, by the wife, to preserve this culture.’
He also quoted a verse from Manusmriti ‘A family where women remain unhappy… is bound to be destroyed. And a family where women are always happy is bound to prosper forever…’
The HC held that the woman was not entitled to maintenance as she refused to live with her husband without any reasonable cause.
This comment may fuel protests from some pro-feminist groups whose primary objective seems to get the most out of a divorce deal. It will serve as a ray of hope for men who have been falsely accused and had to go through mental trauma at the hands of their wives.
