“You married a partner, not a maid”: Supreme Court of India on household duties

On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that a husband must share domestic work like cooking, cleaning, and laundry because he is married, not because he is a servant. Therefore, when a wife does not cook, it is not cruelty and cannot be the basis for divorce.

This ruling by Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta was made when they were hearing a petition by a man against the ruling of the Karnataka High Court. The High Court had set aside the ruling of the trial court that had granted the man a divorce on the basis of cruelty by the wife.

While hearing the case, the lawyer of the man told the Supreme Court that attempts to mediate the marriage had failed. The couple got married in May 2017, but have been living separately since 2019. The lawyer stated that his client wants a divorce.

The trial court had granted the divorce on the grounds of "cruelty." The bench asked what kind of cruelty had been alleged in this case. The petitioner's lawyer stated that the wife's behavior was unbearable, and she didn't even cook.

To this, Justice Nath said, "You have to share all these tasks equally-cooking, cleaning, washing clothes, everything. Today's times are different."

He added that the High Court was correct in stating that this could not be a ground for "cruelty." Justice Mehta said, "You haven't married a maid. You've married a life partner." The bench was told that both of them work in a government school.

To this, the bench said, "Both parties should be summoned in person. We would like to speak to them in person." The court then scheduled the next hearing for April 27 and directed both parties to be present in court that day.