KOCHI: Refuting a woman’s argument that her mother-in-law was forcing domestic work on her, the Kerala High Court on Monday observed that there is nothing unusual in making daughter-in-law do household duty. The woman alleged that the mother-in-law was a villain in her marital life and that she was not willing to live in her marital home alongside the latter. Holding that no family is devoid of clashes, the court allowed the divorce petition filed by the husband. The Bench comprising Justice A M Shaffique and Justice Mary Joseph noted that it was common for elders to scold youngsters.
“Making a daughter-in-law do household or domestic work is not unusual. We (the Bench) do not find any justifiable reason for her to get her mother-in-law excluded from the family or to be desirous of having a separate residence,” observed the court. The family court had dismissed the plea seeking a divorce. Challenging the order, PC Ranjith of Kannur approached the HC. The petitioner and the woman got married on April 17, 2003.
The marital relationship did not last long as differences cropped up. She left her husband’s home in 2011. As she failed to return, the petitioner filed a divorce petition. The woman argued that she left the matrimonial home not by volition but because of the ill-treatment by the petitioner’s mother.
“Evidence indicates that the woman and the petitioner’s mother were not cordial and clashes were frequent. Therefore, it is natural for the petitioner to be a scapegoat for the differences. It is also natural for a wife in that scenario to make persistent effort to constrain her husband to be separated from family life and that would undoubtedly be torturous for him. The torture suffered by him amidst the woman and his mother was of much gravity and something unbearable for him,” court observed.