Delhi HC says coercing wife to do household chores amounts to cruelty

The Delhi High Court in a recent judgment said that forcing the wife to do household chores against her will and health constraints will amount to cruelty. The HC also said that this action undermines her well-being and dignity.

The bench in the case said that when a wife chooses to do household chores, it is because of her love and affection for the family. However, if she is not feeling well or has health constraints, in that case, forcing her to do these tasks will amount to cruelty. Despite, these principles the court said that in the current case, no cruelty was done by the husband as he had arranged for domestic help to manage household work.

“In our opinion, when a wife indulges herself to do household chores, she does it by affection and love for her family… if her health or other circumstances do not permit her, forcefully asking her to do household chores would certainly be cruelty,” said a bench of justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Neena Bansal Krishna said while passing a verdict in a divorce case.

Contrary to the allegations of the wife, the court observed that she had falsely accused her husband of extramarital affairs and pursued criminal complaints against the family and consequently held that the husband was not guilty of any cruelty and granted the husband’s plea for divorce, citing the wife’s misconduct.

“Such allegations that assassinate the spouse’s character amount to highest cruelty, which shall shake the foundation of marriage. In the present case, the respondent by levelling allegations of extramarital affair, has committed immense cruelty on him,” the court said.

The husband had appealed to the Delhi High Court after the Family Court had rejected his plea, citing cruelty in November 2022. The husband had contended that his marriage faced strain due to his wife’s disrespect towards him and his family and that she had also refused to contribute financially or participate in household activities.

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