On Monday, the Supreme Court has observed that a woman has the right to reside both in her mother’s house as well as her in-laws’ house and the court will not allow anyone to throw her out just because the can’t stand her.
This judgement came after a bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and B V Nagarathna was dealing with a case where an appeal was filed by a woman against a Bombay High Court order directing her and her husband to vacate the house of her father-in-law, who had moved the tribunal for exclusive residence at his flat under Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act.
The tribunal had ordered her to vacate the father-in-law’s flat and directed her and her husband to pay the elderly couple Rs 25,000 monthly maintenance. She then filed a writ petition challenging the tribunal’s order citing her right of residence under Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act. The HC had ordered the elderly couple’s son to provide alternative accommodation to his wife and two children but waived off the maintenance liability. She has challenged the High Court’s order before the Supreme Court.
The bench directed listing of her petition on Thursday and directed the Registry to provide video conference links to her parents-in-law.
Justice Nagarathna has said, “A woman in a domestic relationship who is not aggrieved, in the sense that who has not been subjected to an act of domestic violence, has a right to reside in a shared household. Thus, a mother, daughter, sister, wife, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law or such other categories of women in a domestic relationship have the right to reside in a shared household dehors a right, title or beneficial interest in the same.”
“The right of residence of the aforesaid categories of women and such other categories of women in a domestic relationship is guaranteed under Sub-Section (1) of Section 17 of the Act and she cannot be evicted, excluded or thrown out from such a household even in the absence of there being any form of domestic violence,” she further added.
The bench said, “In the Indian societal context, the right of a woman to reside in the shared household is of unique importance. The reasons for the same are not far to see. In India, most women are not educated nor are they earning; neither do they have financial independence so as to live singly.”
“She may be dependent for residence in a domestic relationship not only for emotional support but for the aforesaid reasonsโฆ. A majority of women in India do not have independent income or financial capacity and are totally dependent vis-ร -vis their residence on their male or other female relations who may have a domestic relationship with her,” Justice Nagarathna had said.
“Sending away a woman just because you cannot stand her face will not be allowed by this court. This attitude of throwing out women from their matrimonial homes because of certain matrimonial squabbles is cracking up families,” said a vacation bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and B V Nagarathna.
