The Bombay High Court has ruled that a husband cannot seek divorce merely because his wife does not cook or fails to do household chores, observing that a wife cannot be treated like a domestic worker.
The case involved a couple married in 2002. The husband, a chartered accountant, approached the court alleging that his wife could not cook, behaved rudely, did not follow his instructions and was unable to manage household work, which he claimed caused him mental stress and amounted to cruelty under matrimonial law.
The wife, however, told the court that she was made to do all household tasks such as washing utensils, cleaning and cooking, and was even forced to eat leftover food.
A family court had granted divorce in 2010 but refused maintenance. Hearing the appeal, a bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande set aside the divorce decree.
The judges said marriage is a partnership between equals and not a contract for services. They added that failure to cook or clean by itself does not amount to mental cruelty, and routine early-marriage disagreements should not be exaggerated as cruelty. The court also clarified that mental cruelty must involve serious conduct causing humiliation or mental agony that makes it impossible to continue the marital relationship, citing examples such as public humiliation, abusive language, false allegations or curbing personal freedom.
