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Ankit (consultant)     06 April 2013

Can wife harass my parents?

Thanks for all the replies I had in my previous post, Just a brief mention about my case:

1. Married for 2yrs (Feb 2010), staying with my parents.

2. Wife left home willfully after an argument along with my son (6mnths old), went to police station and she and her parents wrote down false complaints against myself, my parents and my elder brother ( non diarized written complaint).

3. I have tried calling her back multiple times but no response from their side. 13 months since she deserted me.

4. In the meantime i took up a job away my native place at a nearby township and have been staying alone for 8months. i have tried informing this to her both telephonically and through registered posts.

My query is that can my wife enter my parental house and claim it as her matromonial home as her belongings are still at my parents home. i have no problems in her joining me back at my new place but can she harass my parents even now inspite of me moving out.

If yes, Please advice how my aged parents should tackle the problem if she tries to forcebly enter into their house claiming it to be her matromonial home when she left. 



Learning

 13 Replies

Trupthi Agarwal (advocate)     06 April 2013

yes she can claim your parents home as her matrimonial home. if you really want her back then involve some elders from both of your families including an advocate and talk and sort out all the problems. this way atleast you cant be blamed of dire consequences

Manish Udar (www.Mehnat.IN)     07 April 2013

No she cannot enter your parents' home if they are the legal owners of that house, and do not want her to enter

498a Wives

Ankit (consultant)     07 April 2013

Dear all experts,

i feel confused as on of you says she can enter and other says she cannot... Although the house is owned by my parents but her belongings like clothes are still there... As a layman i donot know the legal rights and wrongs if she tries to forcebly enter into my parents house. i want to know how i or my parents should be reacting if such a situation arises. i donot want to let something wrong happen and then put up my query on this forum.

i have tried involving elders of my family. We went to their house but they did not let us enter and her parents misbehaived with us. As per advice giving previously by experts in this forum i have informed police about my wife wilfully deserting me and also about my trying to contact and call her back repeatedly.

i request other experts (Mr Tajobs/ Mr Shonee etc) to also give their valuable advice.. Please  help!


(Guest)

Q: Can wife harass my parents?

Ans: Wife's are born to harass husband's parents. [Only just 1% of wife's do not illtreat the parent-in-laws, which am sure you wont find in this forum :-))]


Further to your questions:


 

 

2. Wife left home willfully after an argument along with my son (6mnths old), went to police station and she and her parents wrote down false complaints against myself, my parents and my elder brother ( non diarized written complaint).

 

3. I have tried calling her back multiple times but no response from their side. 13 months since she deserted me.

 

Instead of calling her back multiple times, one notice from your lawyer would have done wonders.  Even now it is not late.  You send a notice to her to join you back, not at your parents house, but at a different house, so that the most used qualm of wife's I want seperate house gets smashed, even before she ask for it!

 

 

4. In the meantime i took up a job away my native place at a nearby township and have been staying alone for 8months. i have tried informing this to her both telephonically and through registered posts.

My query is that can my wife enter my parental house and claim it as her matromonial home as her belongings are still at my parents home. i have no problems in her joining me back at my new place but can she harass my parents even now inspite of me moving out.

 

Under PWDVA wife can get exparte orders for residence and for protection as your wife and your's last place of residence was infact the matrimonial house, ie your parents house, [provided if the house of your parents is not a ancestral property, and is a self aquired property, she cannot gain entry to your parents house] , provided you are not found at your parents house. If you are found at parents house, she can barge in with police protection !


As you have already moved out, which is  a very well calculated move ! Kudos to that one! You have freed your parents from danger of DIL [devil] barging into the house, and telling that this is my house, I have right to stay here, I wont go from here etc.  She cannot do all this :-)) Lets clap on that one!

 

 

If yes, Please advice how my aged parents should tackle the problem if she tries to forcebly enter into their house claiming it to be her matromonial home when she left. 

 

Even if she gets exparte orders via PWDVA case, she cannot stay at your parents house, at the most she could be told to join you at your new place of residence.  Even if you dont want her to join you in your new place, I have better ideas to give you via PM, as to how to avoid devil wife getting back into your life and making life heller than hell!

Manish Udar (www.Mehnat.IN)     07 April 2013

"Even if she gets exparte orders via PWDVA case, she cannot stay at your parents house, at the most she could be told to join you at your new place of residence. "

How is this possible?


(Guest)

 

Originally posted by : Manish Udar

"Even if she gets exparte orders via PWDVA case, she cannot stay at your parents house, at the most she could be told to join you at your new place of residence. "

How is this possible?


^^^


If husband is not staying at his parental house, and staying elsewhere separately, then wife cannot stay at matrimonial house.  She can only stay there if her husband is staying there.  


If she has already shown that she is homeless and on the streets, then court can ask the woman to go join her husband where he is staying separately

1 Like

Ankit (consultant)     07 April 2013

Thanks Helping hand and Mr. manish for sparing your valuable time and effort for me.

But please don't mind iam still split regarding whether she can enter with an exparte PWDVA order or she cannot as i stay seperatly. My aged parents have never come across such a situation and are very worried regarding this issue....

 What if she tries to forcefully enter into my parents house? Should they call the police or Lock the house and stay at my relatives house for few days till they get some order that prevents her from entering my parents house. For the sake of my kid i have no problem to carry on with her but i strongly feel my aged parents should not undergo the torture due the frequently misused current biased matrimonial laws....

Senior Advocates also please spare some time for my post... I shall fell grateful.

The property is a joint property in the name of my father and his two brothers. They jointly constructed it. I stay alone at the nearby  township where i work.

Iam sure after knowing their legal rights, my parents would be more calm and relaxed and would know how to handle such a situation.... PLEASE PLEASE HELP!!

Manish Udar (www.Mehnat.IN)     07 April 2013

Ankit tell the owner of the house to file a suit for permanent injunction against your wife and her family. Do NOT let your parents disown you legally.

 

The appropriate way to thank in this forum is to use the "thank contributor" feature.

 

www.mehnat.in

1 Like

(Guest)

@Querist,

 

Your legal obligation to your wife is to only provide a residence.She cannot insist on the matter of living with your parents. your wife cannot reside without the consent of your parents but the pre-condition is if she wants you to live with you, you have to entertain her request and you cannot leave her in a different residence to live with your parents.

 

The belogings of your wife are all movable and can move from one place to other.Or isn't the case!!! :-)

 

Note-This reply should be taken as per the declaration given in my profile page.

 

Thanks,

Regards,

Ankit (consultant)     07 April 2013

The belongings of my wife include her clothes only.

Thanks to the tradition in my house, we insisted on a dowry less marriage.

How is the suit for permanant injuction to be filed... Is it to be put now or when she attempts to enter forcebly??

Manish Udar (www.Mehnat.IN)     07 April 2013

It is to be filed now at the local district court.

 

www.mehnat.in


(Guest)

Read these judgments:



 

A house owned by a woman’s in-laws cannot be considered a “shared household” the Bombay High Court has ruled.

The high court recently stayed an order of a magistrate court reserving a bedroom for a woman, who had left her husband’s house, in her matrimonial home saying the apartment cannot be defined “shared household” under the Domestic Violence Act, 2005.

The woman got married to a Borivli resident on February 14, 2009. She left her matrimonial home in August 2009 following disputes with her husband. She lodged a complaint with Metropolitan Magistrates Court at Borivli under the Domestic Violence Act.

 

 

As interim relief, the woman sought the right to continue staying in her matrimonial home. Section 2 of the Act protects the right of residence of estranged women in a shared household.

On June 25, the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate directed one bedroom in the matrimonial home be made available to her. The magistrate also restricted her in-laws’ access to the bedroom only to the extent of fulfilling their parental obligations.

The woman’s mother-in-law challenged the interim order in the sessions court and approached the high court after the former rejected her plea.

The in-laws argued their estranged daughter-in-law had no right to enter the matrimonial home since it belonged to them and not her husband.

They said a house owned by in-laws cannot be termed “shared household” as defined in the Domestic Violence Act. They relied on a Supreme Court judgment, which says interim protection cannot be granted to a wife when the house belongs to the in-laws.

A single judge bench of Justice V.M. Kanade accepted their contention and stayed the order of the lower court saying it was difficult accept that a house owned by in-laws could be treated as a shared household.


(Guest)

 

Delhi and Bombay High Courts favor in-laws under Domestic Violence Act

 

Justice Shiv Narayan Dhingra of the Delhi High Court recently held that a daughter in-law cannot book her in-laws under the Domestic Violence Act, if the parents are not living with their son and his wife.


“There can be no domestic relationship of the wife of the son with the parents when the parents are not living with the son, and there can be no domestic relationship of a wife with the parents of her husband when the son, along with the wife, is living abroad.” The court concluded that to constitute a family and domestic relationship means staying / living together under the very same roof.


“Once a son grows up and he starts earning, marries, makes his separate home and sires children, the burden of his wife cannot be put on to the shoulders of his father or brother.” Thus in the present case the daughter in-law had filed a case under the Domestic Violence Act, against her father in-law; mother in-law; brother in-law; along with her husband with whom she was staying abroad.


The woman succeeded in the lower court in attaining an order to grant her a monthly payment of Rs. 50,000 ($1082) towards maintenance. The Delhi High Court came to the in-laws' rescue in an appeal filed by the aggrieved in-laws in setting aside the lower court’s order and passing a judgment in favour of the in-laws.


In converging circumstances, the Bombay High Court has defined the concept of a matrimonial household. A house owned by a woman’s in-laws, cannot be considered a ‘shared household’. In accordance with Section 2 of the Domestic Violence Act, it protects the right of residence of estranged women in a shared household.


In the present case, the mother in-law had challenged the lower court’s decision of granting a bedroom in the matrimonial household and had restricted the entry of the in-laws (only to the extent granted to fulfil parental obligation). The mother in-law challenged the interim order in the Sessions Court which rejected her plea and approached the Bombay High Court.


The in-laws based their argument on a Supreme Court judgement which states “interim protection cannot be granted to a wife when the house belongs to the in-laws.” They contended that a separated / estranged daughter in-law had no right to enter the matrimonial home as it didn’t belong to the daughter in-law and neither her husband. 


Justice V.M. Kanade stayed the order passed by the lower court and stated “It was difficult to accept that a house owned by in-laws could be treated as a shared household. It is difficult to consider a woman’s matrimonial home as shared household if it is not owned by the husband.”


The courts are definitely moving away from the old school thought of mostly favouring the daughter in-law in matters relating to domestic violence. Both the judgements were given in the month of July this year.


The Judges are changing with the times, to aspects pertaining to matters of domestic violence. Lately it seems the courts are being broadminded in their approach as we have previously seen the Supreme Court ruling that live-in relationships are fine and also the fact that divorce has been made easy, by adding of an additional ground.


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