Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said that ‘ Daughters are not a liability’ while referring to Article 14 of the Indian Constitution.
Mumbai: The Supreme Court while hearing a case on Friday, involving the payment of alimony to a woman by the father said ‘daughters are not a liability’.
The remark from a bench of judges DY Chandrachud and AS Bopanna came on Friday after the lawyer appeared before the man and said that the woman is a liability.
“Daughters are not an obligation,” observed Judge Chandrachud, referring to Article 14 of the Constitution which deals with equality before the law.
The Supreme Court had ruled in October 2020 that the lawyer representing the petitioners said that no amount had been paid for the liability of child support, which after April 2018 was calculated at Rs 8,000 per month for the daughter and Rs 400 per month for the woman. This was the case, he then ordered the man to pay his wife and daughter Rs 2,50,000 within two weeks.
Later, when the case was heard in May this year, the bank learned that the woman had died last year.
The attorney who appeared for the man had informed the court that he had duly paid the back payments and referred to the bank statements.
In May, the court has said, “In order to enable the court to have a factual report on whether the order for the payment of maintenance has been complied with, we request the registrar (judicial) to prepare a factual report after ascertaining the position from the counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioners and the respondent.”
He had indicated that the (judicial) report of the registrar had to be prepared within eight weeks. When the case went to trial on Friday, the chamber was told that the woman is a lawyer and passed the preliminary examination for a court service exam.
The Supreme Court ruled that the woman should focus on her trials so as not to be dependent on her father. After telling the court that the woman and her father had not spoken to each other in a long time, the court suggested that they talk to each other.
The panel asked the man to pay his daughter Rs 50,000 by August 8.
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