Uproar over a judgement by the Bombay High Court that daughters-in-law cannot lay claim on their in-law’s house unless her husband too owns the same has no standing.

In perhaps the first order to define ’shared household’ under the Domestic Violence Act, the Bombay HC has held that a daughter-in-law can’t claim any legal right of residence in a house belonging exclusively to her parents-in-law.

I stand with the judgement passed by the court in the sense that it is logical to not allow  people who do not own a house to claim it. 9 years ago a judgment passed by the Bombay City Civil court ruled that since the wife is a mere family member, she has no direct control over her father-in-law’s property, and he can ask her to vacate the premises in the event of a dispute.

The same spirit finds echo in various laws of the land, which state that the owner of a self-earned property can do whatever he/she likes with the property. Only the spouse can stake a claim in such a property.

This judgment sends a clear message to those who are dependent on their parents’ for shelter, and to women who are deluded into thinking that they have a house just because they live with their in-laws. This judgment is an eye-opener as it will make young people take good care of their parents and not neglect their parents’ needs as they turn old.
Many young Indian adults do not buy their own house, expecting to inherit. There exists a symbiotic relationship between parents and children in the Indian society and a certain level of quid pro quo is implicit. This may sound very cold hearted but it is a fact that the son and daughter-in-law are expected to look after their old parents and in return they expect to get the parents’ property and wealth. If for some bitter reason this arrangement falls out, then parents may not want to will their house/wealth in the name of their grown-up children. The fault may lie with either party, in-laws expecting too much from their son and daughter-in-law or the son/daughter-in-law not fulfilling their obligations.

To conclude, I’d have to sorrowfully say that adults who wish to abuse their parents will continue to do it anyway, while adults who look after their parents will now wonder if their parents think they are doing it out of ‘duty’ or because of the law. And as far as the judgment about daughters-in-law is concerned, not having a legal right to their in-law’s home will deprive women abandoned by their husbands of their last ray of hope.