“Wife Can’t Claim Right To Matrimonial Home Or Shared Household After Leaving It Before Divorce,”: Bombay High Court
The process of divorce is quite a lengthy one, especially when the matter reaches court. It might take some time for two people to officially part ways, even though they are already living separately. On these grounds, the Bombay High Court passed a judgement for women concerning their rights to claim residence at their matrimonial house even after divorce. In the hearing, the High Court ruled that if a wife has already left her husband’s home before the divorce process has ended, then she cannot claim shared residence at his place.
The statement came in view of a case heard by the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court. In this case, a woman claimed her right of getting a residence in her husband’s shared household even though they got divorced in 2018, on grounds of Domestic Violence allegations against the husband. The woman’s claim was challenged by her ex-in-laws, saying that since the woman is now divorced from her son, she cannot claim possession of a shared household.
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Hearing this argument, the High Court bench presided by Sandipkumar More, noted that a woman can claim residence at her husband’s shared household but particularly for this case, he stated that the circumstances say otherwise. The judge further stated that the woman left the house before the divorce and therefore she is not entitled to claim residence at the matrimonial home. He also clarified that even if the divorce case is pending in court, the woman has to stay at the shared residence to claim her further rights on it, and backed it up with Section 17 of the Domestic Violence act, as per report.
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Although my concerns are if it is mentally and emotionally healthy to stay at the husband’s household even after severe problems, just so the wife can later claim her rights on it? What do you think of this judgment?
