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“You married a partner, not a maid”: Supreme Court of India on household duties
The Supreme Court stated that a husband must share equally in household chores because he is married to a spouse, not a maid. The court clarified that a wife's failure to cook is not cruelty and cannot be grounds for divorce.
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.
