Not performing rituals no ground for divorce: Court
NEW DELHI:
A girls refusal to perform post-marital ceremonies cannot be a reason to seek divorce,a trial court has held. Non-observing of such odd customs of grooms family cannot be termed cruelty upon the husband.
The courts remarks came while trashing the plea of a man seeking divorce on the grounds that he was subjected to mental cruelty after his wife refused to sit for the age-old custom of Muh dikhai (ceremony of first meeting of the girl with the family ) calling it a drama.Filing for divorce,the man alleged that a day after his wedding,his wife misbehaved at the time of muh dikhai saying that such ceremony was a drama and she was not interested at all in performing the same.Another ground raised by the man was that the girls family did not accord special treatment to him as is given to a son-in-law according to the customs.The girls parents refused to entertain the entire b i r a d a r i (community) which was coming for the phera ceremony to their house, he said.
The courts remarks came while trashing the plea of a man seeking divorce on the grounds that he was subjected to mental cruelty after his wife refused to sit for the age-old custom of Muh dikhai (ceremony of first meeting of the girl with the family ) calling it a drama.Filing for divorce,the man alleged that a day after his wedding,his wife misbehaved at the time of muh dikhai saying that such ceremony was a drama and she was not interested at all in performing the same.Another ground raised by the man was that the girls family did not accord special treatment to him as is given to a son-in-law according to the customs.The girls parents refused to entertain the entire b i r a d a r i (community) which was coming for the phera ceremony to their house, he said.
Finding no merit in the mans petition,additional district judge Rajender Kumar Shastri said a woman cannot be compelled to participate in such ceremonies.It appears to be an intrusion in the personal liberty of bride,if she is forced to sit bare face and each and sundry are allowed to stare at her in the name of custom, he said.Slamming such customs,the court also called it unreasonable to compel the parents of the bride to host guests from the community of the grooms family for a ceremony.Such voluptuous practices have no basis except to extract money from parents of the bride.Such parents are thus pressed to follow these absurd practices in the name of customs, ADJ Shastri said.
Even as the man sought a divorce on the ground of cruelty,his wife moved the court seeking a direction for her husband to take her back in their matrimonial home.Challenging her husbands allegations of cruelty,the woman said that her in-laws constantly cursed her for being a bad omen.
