The Supreme Court on Tuesday urged a married couple to put aside personal differences and make decisions focused on the welfare of their child. The bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and R Mahadevan highlighted the importance of compromise in resolving disputes affecting children.

Court on husband’s proposal

The husband, who works with the railways in Delhi, offered to arrange separate accommodation in Patna to meet his child on weekends. The wife, living in Patna with her parents and child while employed at RBI, has refused to accept the proposal. The court termed the husband’s suggestion as reasonable and asked the wife’s counsel to convince her, but she declined.

Concerns over in-laws and travel

The wife expressed reluctance to visit Delhi due to differences with her in-laws. The court advised the husband to either arrange accommodation in Patna or move his parents temporarily to a hotel or guesthouse so that the wife could travel to Delhi to meet their child.

The bench noted, “Look at the fate of the parents, they have to move out of the house because the daughter-in-law cannot live with them.” The judges also said, “There is a saying that a wife should not treat husband as lattoo.” The Supreme Court recommended that the couple go for mediation to resolve their differences and ensure that the child’s best interests are met.