Want to achieve marital bliss? Do as your wife says! This age-old wisdom has now got the Supreme Court’s stamp of approval.
A vacation bench of justice Markandeya Katju and justice Deepak Verma observed, “Bibi joh boltee hai woh suno (listen to whatever your wife says), as otherwise it could land you in trouble. Because if you do not listen to her, you will suffer the consequences.
“Hum sab bhoge hain (we have all suffered),” the bench remarked in a lighter vein.
The court said a husband has to accept his wife’s suggestion even if it doesn’t make sense. “If your wife asks you to put your face that side, put it that side. If she says, put it this side, then put it this side. Otherwise you will face trouble. Hum sub bhoge hain,” the justices said again.
The remarks came on Tuesday during the hearing of a matrimonial case involving an air force officer, Deepak Kumar, who alleged that his estranged wife Manisha had ruined him and his family by implicating them in false criminal cases, including of sodomy.
The couple got married 17 years ago, but marital disputes surfaced between them soon after.
A district court in Chandigarh dismissed Kumar’s plea for divorce as Manisha opposed it, but a single judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court granted a decree of judicial separation saying the marriage “had irretrievably broken down”. A division bench directed Deepak to pay Rs10 lakh as maintenance to Manisha.
Manisha, however, filed an appeal in the apex court challenging the decree of divorce.
Deepak’s counsel pointed out that though Manisha had implicated her husband and his family in a host of criminal cases, she was still opposing the divorce.
The vacation bench, however, posted the matter for hearing to the last week of July. “You have waited for 17 years, so wait for a few more days,” the bench told Kumar.
