Hearing a plea seeking divorce on the grounds of the wife being terminally ill, the Supreme Court on Thursday said that the husband should refrain from doing so and is obliged to stand by his wife.
The wife’s life-threatening condition and consequent need for funds is thought to have forced her to accept a settlement for money in exchange for separation.
A bench said, "It is evident that the wife needs sufficient amount of money for the treatment of breast cancer. Hence, it cannot be ruled out that in order to save her life by getting money, she agreed for a settlement of dissolution of marriage.”
It said that a Hindu wife treats her husband as God and therefore it is incumbent on the husband to take care of his ill wife and protect her from any difficulty.
"Hindu marriage is a sacred and a holy union of husband and wife by virtue of which the wife is completely transplanted in the household of her husband and takes a new birth. It is a combination of bone-to-bone and flesh-to-flesh. To a Hindu wife, her husband is her God and her life becomes one of the selfless service and profound dedication to her husband. She not only shares the life and love, but the joys and sorrows, the troubles and tribulation of her husband and becomes an integral part of her husband's life and activities," the bench said.
The bench added that the divorce plea would be considered only after the wife’s condition gets better and also directed the husband to pay Rs 5 lakh for her treatment.