The Supreme Court told a woman on December 1 to “behave herself properly” and “look after” her husband and his mother while hearing an appeal in a divorce case, LiveLaw reported.
The order was passed by a bench of Justices Kurian Joseph and Deepak Gupta. They were hearing an appeal filed by the woman’s husband Harjinder Singh against a Punjab and Haryana High Court order that refused to grant him a divorce. The top court will hear the case next on January 17, 2018.
Observing that “everything was not lost”, the bench directed the woman, Rajpal, to live with her husband for a few weeks and not leave him without permission from the top court.
“The petitioner/Harjinder Singh has been very gracious and fair in his submissions...The respondent wife has not instituted any case except one case for maintenance,” the Supreme Court bench said. “We find that the parties should be given a chance to live together for a few weeks, keeping the case pending before us.”
The court then told Rajpal Singh to go with her husband. “[Rajpal] is directed to behave herself properly and look after the petitioner and his aged mother,” the bench said. Nobody from Rajpal’s family should interfere with their “peaceful living”, it added. “Without permission from the court, Rajpal shall not leave the company of Harjinder Singh.”
Rajpal Singh had sought a divorce on grounds of cruelty and desertion. After it was turned down by the family court and the Punjab and Haryana High Court, she went to the Supreme Court.
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