‘Wife is equally entitled to the property purchased by her husband’, no less than 8 hours of work in the house: High Court gave a big verdict

The Madras High Court has ruled that a wife is equally entitled to property bought by her husband and has observed that the various roles played by a wife cannot be reduced to the husband’s eight-hour job. Justice Krishnan Ramasamy recently passed the order on a property dispute involving a couple. However, the original appellant has died. The man had claimed ownership of the property alleging that his wife was involved in an extramarital affair. Later, after the death of the person, his children were included in the case. The judge noted that the respondent woman is a homemaker and even though she did not make any direct financial contribution, she played a significant role in household chores by taking care of the children, cooking, cleaning and managing the daily affairs of the family.

The judge said that the respondent woman took care of every facility of her husband due to which he (husband) could go abroad for work. “Besides, she sacrificed her dreams and devoted her whole life for family and children,” the court said. The judge said, “In a marriage, the wife gives birth to children, brings them up and takes care of the house. Thus she frees her husband for his economic activities. Since the woman performs her duty, that enables the husband to do his work. Therefore she (the wife) is entitled to a share in its profits.”

The judge said that a woman being a housewife does many things. She is also a manager, cook, home doctor and home economist with financial skills. The court said, “Therefore, by displaying these skills, a wife creates a comfortable home environment and contributes to the family. Certainly it is not a worthless job, but it is a 24-hour job without holidays, which cannot be compared to the job of the earning husband, who works only for eight hours.

The court said that husband and wife are considered as the two wheels of the family vehicle, so whether the husband earns or the wife serves the family and the children.

“The reasonable presumption is that the beneficial interest belongs to them jointly. The property can be bought in the name of the spouse alone, but still, it is bought from the money saved by their joint efforts.” The court observed that in the present case, if the defendant (wife) had not been there, certainly, the plaintiff (deceased person) would not have gone abroad and earned all the money. The judge orders an equal share for both of them in some real estate.