New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday observed that a husband must equally share household responsibilities such as cooking, cleaning and washing clothes, stressing that marriage is a partnership, not a master-servant relationship.
A bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta said that a man marries a life partner, not a domestic worker, and that societal expectations around household roles have evolved.
The remarks came during the hearing of a petition challenging a Karnataka High Court order, which had set aside a divorce granted to the husband.
The husband’s counsel had argued that the wife’s refusal to cook amounted to cruelty and should be grounds for divorce. The couple, who married in May 2017, have been living separately since 2019 and are both employed as government school teachers.
The bench, however, endorsed the High Court’s view that not cooking cannot be considered cruelty sufficient for divorce. It underlined that domestic duties cannot be imposed solely on the wife.
The court has directed both parties to appear in person on April 27 for further interaction and possible resolution of the dispute.
