Hearing a matrimonial dispute case, the Madras high court recently made the observation that a woman cannot be expected to follow her husband wherever he goes like the pug (dog breed) in the Vodafone ad.
The court also said that a man, likewise, cannot always take along a wife with him when he has to shift for employment, reported Bar and Bench.
A division bench of Justices GR Swaminathan and MD Sumathi made the remark while rejecting a family court observation that husband had violated marital obligations by shifting to another city for work without taking his wife along. “It may not always be feasible to take the wife along. Suppose the husband is a soldier, it is not possible to set up a marital home in the army barracks. The wife could be gainfully employed. She cannot be expected to conduct herself like the pug in the unforgettable Vodafone ad,” Bar and Bench quoted the high court as observing. The Bench made the observations while setting aside an order of the Sivagangai family court, which had dismissed the husband’s divorce petition. The high court disapproved of the family court’s reasoning, saying, “Radical feminists may applaud the revolutionary approach of the trial court. We say with regret that we cannot give our imprimatur.”
However, the family court held that he was taking advantage of his own wrong under Section 23(1)(a) of the Hindu Marriage Act , as he had left Sivagangai for employment in Mumbai without taking his wife along. It therefore dismissed the husband’s divorce petition.
The husband had reportedly alleged that his wife was in an “adulterous relationship”. The family court reasoned that it was “highly impracticable” for anyone to overcome sexual desire and that it was the solemn duty of a husband to take his wife wherever he went.
