The Allahabad High Court ruled that a married woman is not entitled to protection from the court if she is living-in with another male without a divorce.
What was the case?
Petitioners Asha Devi and Suraj Kumar moved the court to claim that they are adults "living as husband and wife", and therefore no one can interfere with their lives.
The State counsel alleged, in opposition to the petition, that Asha Devi was previously married to Mahesh Chandra and began to live with Suraj Kumar without seeking a divorce, which is an infringement and thus not eligible for any defence.
HC Response
On Monday, a two-judge bench comprising Justice S P Kesarwani and Justice Y K Srivastava observed that Asha Devi was still Mahesh Chandra's legally wedded wife. As Asha Devi is married, the act of petitioners, specifically Suraj Kumar, may constitute a felony under the IPC's Sections 494 (marrying again during the lifetime of a husband or wife)/ 495 (same offence with concealment of former marriage from a person with whom subsequent marriage is contracted), the bench said.
More by the court
Dismissing the petition the court observed, "It is a settled law that writ of mandamus can be issued if the petitioner has a legal right to the performance of a legal duty by the party against whom the mandamus is sought and such right must be subsisting on the date of the petition."
"The petitioners do not have legally protected and judicially enforceable subsisting right to ask for mandamus," it said.
What protections is the petitioner robbed of?
Some of the protections include - The Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956, entitles wives a basic right to reside in the matrimonial/marital household. The term matrimonial home here refers to a household a woman shares with her husband. The apex court has also given inalienable rights over Streedhan to the married woman. It rules that the right is not lost even after separation from her husband. That is, a wife has complete ownership rights to all her Streedhan, the gifts and money given to her before and after marriage. A wife has the right to claim decent living standards and basic comforts of life from her husband. However, the benefits are subject to the husband’s living standards, his income and property. These protections and other rights stand under contentious limelight for the petitioners.
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