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Wife as homemaker has right to equal share in assets acquired by husband: Madras HC

2 min read 25 Jun 2023, 11:13 PM IST Livemint ,Edited By Chanchal

The Madras HC has ruled that wives as homemakers have a right to an equal share in assets acquired by their husbands

Madras high court bench held while no legislation recognises the contributions made by a wife as a homemaker, the court does recognise it (HT_PRINT) — Madras high court bench held while no legislation recognises the contributions made by a wife as a homemaker, the court does recognise it **(HT_PRINT)**

Madras high court said on Sunday that a wife as a homemaker has the right to equal share in the assets acquired by her husband. The high court also held that they also contribute towards acquisition of the family assets by performing their domestic chores and hence, the court observed, they are entitled to a share in the property.

The judgment by a Madras high court bench held while no legislation recognises the contributions made by a wife or a homemaker, the court does recognise it.

“The contribution which wives make towards acquisition of the family assets by performing their domestic chores, thereby releasing their husbands for gainful employment, would be a factor which, this Court would specifically take into account while deciding the right in the properties either the title stand in the name of the husband or wife and certainly, the spouse who looks after the home and cares for family for decades, entitled to a share in the property," Justice Krishnan Ramasamy said.

The court added, “If, on marriage, she gives up her paid work in order to devote herself to caring for her husband and children, it is an unwarrantable hardship when in consequence she finds herself in the end with nothing she can call her own."

The court acknowledged that if there is a joint contribution, whether direct or indirect, both the husband and the homemaker are entitled to an equal division of the assets.

Justice Krishnan Ramasamy said, “No law prevents the Judges from recognizing the contributions made by a wife facilitating her husband to purchase the property. In my view, if the acquisition of assets is made by joint contribution (directly or indirectly) of both the spouses for the welfare of the family, certainly, both are entitled to equal share."

The court was hearing a case that dates back to 2015 where a woman, identified as Kamsala Ammal, claimed a share in the properties/assets of her husband which was contested by bother her husband and her children. While a local court had rejected her appeal, the high court held Kamsala Ammal was entitled to a 50 per cent share in the assets even though they were originally held by her husband.