Steady decline in maintenance cases: Report

Visakhapatnam: The micro-family systems, lack of elder’s guidance and the financial independence are top five reasons leading to various disputes between the wife and husband relationship. Unable to digest and honour the other feelings, both wife and husband on small issues knocking the court doors for breakups.

The women are also strongly deciding to breakup living relationship with husband and accepting any challenges in the life further. Even the legal experts and courts are suggesting the divorce applicants to compromise and settle the issues, majority of applicants are moving to separate from the family life.

For the first time, N Bhagya Lakshmi done her PhD on the ‘Matrimonial dispute resolution in India through alternative dispute resolution methods: A socio-legal study with reference to Visakhapatnam Family Court.’ During her research, Bhagya Lakshmi found there is an abnormal increase in the divorce cases. Surprisingly, during the past one decade, over 80 per cent of the cases were filed with mutual consent.

Meanwhile, the women are also least bothered about the maintenance and asking the husband just to accept for the divorce, deciding to lead her life on her choice. “Since 2003, there is a decline in the maintenance cases and increase in mutual consent of divorce cases. The one of the strong reasons for it is due to the lack of the pacifists.

Earlier, in the combined families, there are number of elderly people and influential persons at homes closely observing the young couple relationship and involved into their differences, if necessary. However, in the present micro family structures, the couple have no time to sit and discuss the issues. Even for small issues, they are knocking the court doors for separation,” Dr Bhagya Lakshmi told The Hans India.

Meanwhile, after the mutual consent cases, the husbands are filing cases against their wives. The husbands are filing cases in the courts seeking justice to send their wives for living relationship. “This is a new trend to avoid the maintenance after separation. To escape from the maintenance burden, the husbands are filing the cases. Earlier, a greater number of divorce cases followed by maintenance filed by the wives only,” Dr Bhagya Lakshmi said.

“Earlier, the couple are differed with their policies and habits, but in the present,they are developing differences personally and with the heat the love and affection being evaporated. In fact, the practices and methods in the olden days strengthened the wife and relationship, even there are differences. With this new trend, the Hindu marriage system being weakened,” Bhagya Lakshmi said.