3 months ago
93
ARTICLE AD BOX
NEW DELHI: Invoking Manusmriti which says nary mother, nary father, nary wife, and nary lad deserves to beryllium forsaken and a idiosyncratic who abandons them should beryllium fined, Supreme Court Tuesday held that a daughter-in-law who becomes a widow aft the decease of her father-in-law is entitled to assertion attraction from his property nether the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956.The disorder arose arsenic it was contended that a daughter-in-law, who became widow during the beingness of father-in-law, was entitled to attraction but not successful the lawsuit wherever she became widow aft his death. The tribunal said the classification made betwixt widowed daughters-in-law based solely connected the timing of the husband's decease is unreasonable and arbitrary and successful some cases she is entitled to maintenance.A seat of Justices Pankaj Mithal and S V N Bhatti said Section 22 o Act provides for the attraction of dependants and casts an work upon each the heirs of the deceased Hindu to support the dependants of the deceased retired of the property inherited by them from the deceased and it includes daughter-in-law who becomes widow.
It said that the proviso contemplates "maintenance of dependants", including "widowed girl in-law" from the property of her father-in-law."A lad oregon the ineligible heirs are bound to support each the babelike persons retired of property inherited i.e. each persons whom the deceased was legally and morally bound to maintain. Therefore, connected the decease of son, it is the pious work of father-in-law to support widowed daughter-in-law, if she is incapable to support herself either connected her ain oregon done the spot near down by the deceased son. The Act does not envisage to regularisation retired the supra work of the father-in-law to support his widowed daughter-in-law, irrespective of the information erstwhile she became a widow whether anterior oregon aft his death," SC said.
"Denying attraction to a widowed daughter-in-law... connected a constrictive oregon method operation of the statute would exposure her to destitution and societal marginalisation..."
