Court Ruling: Under the rules of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956, an unmarried daughter can claim the costs of marriage from her parents, according to the Chhattisgarh High Court. A plea submitted by Rajeshwari, a 35-year-old woman from Chhattisgarh’s Durg district, was heard by a Division Bench of the High Court in Bilaspur.
According to the petitioner’s lawyer, A.K. Tiwari, a bench of Justices Goutam Bhaduri and Sanjay S. Agrawal granted her request for a hearing on March 21 by admitting that an unmarried daughter can claim the amount of her marriage from her parents under the provisions of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956.
The high court set aside the ruling of the family court
The Bench set aside the ruling of the Principal Judge of the Family Court Durg dated 22 April 2016 and returned the case to the family court for adjudication on the merits in accordance with Section 3(b) (ii) of the Act of 1956. The parties have been ordered to appear in family court by the judge.
The petitioner, the daughter of Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) employee Bhunu Ram, filed a plea in Durg family court under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956, alleging that she is entitled to maintenance in the amount of Rs. 20 lakh as part of her marriage expenses.
The family court has earlier dismissed the application
On January 7, 2016, the family court dismissed the application, claiming that the Act does not provide for a daughter to seek the amount of her marriage. Ms. Rajeshwari claimed in her petition that because the respondent, Bhanu Ram, is about to retire and is likely to receive a retiral dues of 55 lakh, an appropriate writ should be issued directing the respondent-employer Bhilai Steel Plant to release a portion of his retiral dues in her favor in the amount of 20 lakh.
Ms. Rajeshwari had appealed the family court’s decision to the High Court, saying that under the law, an unmarried daughter can demand the costs of her father’s marriage from him, claiming that the expense falls under the category of maintenance, Mr. Tiwari said. The judgment was deemed noteworthy by the Bench, and it has been approved for reporting (AFR), he added, adding that the case would now be included in all legal books. Mr. Tiwari noted that this is the first of its type order by the High Court of Chhattisgarh.