Asking working wife to contribute to household expenses not cruelty: HC

NAGPUR: Bombay HC's Nagpur bench recently ruled that asking a working wife to contribute her salary towards household expenses "cannot, in itself, be construed as an unlawful demand or cruelty."

Justice Vrushali Joshi quashed an FIR and chargesheet registered against a Nagpur-based man and his parents at Mankapur PS under IPC Sections 498-A (cruelty by husband or his relatives) and Section 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), reports Vaibhav Ganjapure.

The court noted that the wife, a govt servant, was pressured to hand over her salary because she allegedly did not perform household work. However, after examining the charges and case material, Justice Joshi held that "such a contention did not satisfy the ingredients of cruelty under matrimonial law". The case stemmed from a complaint filed by the wife after the marriage turned sour.