A brother cannot be a mute spectator to his divorced sister’s miseries when she needs his financial help, Delhi High Court-Courtesy Times of India 9.6.22
NEW DELHI: A brother cannot be a mute spectator to his divorced sister’s miseries when she needs his financial help, Delhi High Court has noted, underlining that children also have a duty to take care of their aged parents.
The court’s observation came while holding as “meritless” a woman’s claim that her ex-husband’s divorced sister cannot be held to be a dependent.
“In my opinion, this stand is meritless to the extent that in India, the bond between siblings and their dependence on each other may not always be financial, but it is expected that a brother or sister will not abandon or neglect his or her sibling in time of need,” justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said, adding that Indian culture champions togetherness amongst family members.
“In particular, the relationship between a brother and a sister has a deep sense of care towards one another. Festivals, norms, and traditions in India affirm and recognise the care, affection, and responsibility of siblings towards each other,” The court said.
“There is no scepticism about the fact that the sister receives maintenance from her husband, but the brother cannot be a mute spectator to her misery if and when she needs his help. Some provision needs to be made in his list of expenditures to support her sibling.....furthermore, it is the duty of the son/ daughter to take care of his/ her parents during the golden days of their life,” it noted.
The court said it is the moral and legal duty of the husband to look after his father in the golden years of his life and ensure every comfort and support to him as “he is because of him” and in the absence of any proof of independent income of the father, the man must be spending some amount on looking after his father.
“The father may not have considered filing the case for maintenance before a court of law. At times, parents may feel sad and inferior even at the thought of being maintained by their child and asking for maintenance. Their love and affection for their child are so overpowering that they may decide to live uncomfortably but not ask for maintenance.
“Parents want to feel independent as they don’t live with their children, their children live with them. With these thoughts in mind, I hold that the father's needs are not many as he is staying with the respondent, but a certain amount of expenditure must be apportioned for his needs,” it said.
“In my opinion, this stand is meritless to the extent that in India, the bond between siblings and their dependence on each other may not always be financial, but it is expected that a brother or sister will not abandon or neglect his or her sibling in time of need,” justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said, adding that Indian culture champions togetherness amongst family members.
“In particular, the relationship between a brother and a sister has a deep sense of care towards one another. Festivals, norms, and traditions in India affirm and recognise the care, affection, and responsibility of siblings towards each other,” The court said.
It was hearing a plea by the woman seeking enhancement of maintenance to be paid by her ex-husband. The court noted that the man has a 79-year-old dependent father, a divorced sister, his second wife, and a daughter to maintain.
“There is no scepticism about the fact that the sister receives maintenance from her husband, but the brother cannot be a mute spectator to her misery if and when she needs his help. Some provision needs to be made in his list of expenditures to support her sibling.....furthermore, it is the duty of the son/ daughter to take care of his/ her parents during the golden days of their life,” it noted.
The court said it is the moral and legal duty of the husband to look after his father in the golden years of his life and ensure every comfort and support to him as “he is because of him” and in the absence of any proof of independent income of the father, the man must be spending some amount on looking after his father.
“The father may not have considered filing the case for maintenance before a court of law. At times, parents may feel sad and inferior even at the thought of being maintained by their child and asking for maintenance. Their love and affection for their child are so overpowering that they may decide to live uncomfortably but not ask for maintenance.
“Parents want to feel independent as they don’t live with their children, their children live with them. With these thoughts in mind, I hold that the father's needs are not many as he is staying with the respondent, but a certain amount of expenditure must be apportioned for his needs,” it said.
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