Court directs woman to pay maintenance to mother-in-law

CHANDIGARH: In an important judgment, the Punjab and Haryana high court has directed a woman, who got a compassionate job in her husband's place, to pay maintenance of ₹10,000 to her mother-in-law.

- Surender Sharma

The high court bench of justice Harpreet Singh Brar said that even as Section 125 of CrPC (now Section 144 of BNSS) does not place any liability on the daughter-in-law to maintain her parents-in-law or vice versa. However, the petitioner woman was employed on compassionate grounds.

"The idea behind granting compassionate appointment is to assist the family in dealing with the financial crisis that follows the death of a bread-earner," the court observed while noting that the husband of the sexagenarian mother-in-law has died and the son, who is living with her, is a rickshaw puller and can't take care of her financial needs.