MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court recently granted relief to an octogenarian woman by confirming the conviction of her husband for subjecting her to cruelty and further directed her husband and son to pay her a monthly maintenance of Rs 20,000 with arrears.
"The Indian marriage system, while rooted in noble ideals, must evolve from the shadow of male chauvinism into the light of equality and mutual respect. Let this judgment serve as a quiet but firm reminder that respect within marriage is ageless, and that protection of dignity, especially of elderly women, is the truest reflection of a civilized society," the court added.
Justice L Victoria Gowri passed the order on an appeal filed by the woman challenging an order passed by a sessions court in Paramakudi in 2017, acquitting her husband, who was earlier convicted and sentenced to six years imprisonment by a judicial magistrate in 2016.
The couple got married in 1965 and had two sons, one of whom died due to illness in 2002. Alleging that her husband, the surviving son, and his wife subjected her to cruelty and isolation and criminally intimidated her, she lodged a police complaint in 2007.
The magistrate court acquitted her son and daughter-in-law but convicted her husband of cruelty and imposed the above punishment. However, the Sessions Court, which heard the appeal, set aside the conviction, and she subsequently challenged the appeal.
Justice Gowri opined that the sessions court's judgment was vitiated by misdirection in law and non-consideration of material evidence and is unsustainable. She concluded that the trial court's decision was sound and restored the conviction and sentence. She also decided the petitions relating to her maintenance by issuing the above direction.
This case stands as a solemn reminder of the unseen sufferings of women, particularly those of advanced years, who have spent their entire lives enduring indignities, humiliation, and deprivation in the name of preserving family honour and marital sanctity, the judge observed.
"It is high time that men in this land unlearn this inherited dogma that marriage entitles them to unquestioned authority and begin to understand that the comfort, safety, needs, and dignity of their wives are not secondary duties but core obligations of the marital bond, especially in their twilight years," she added.
