“The right of an unmarried daughter to get reasonable expenses concerning her marriage from her father cannot have a religious shade,” the Court said.
The Court emphasized that the entitlement of an unmarried daughter to receive reasonable marriage expenses from her father should not be influenced by religious considerations, the Court stated.
“The right of an unmarried daughter to get reasonable expenses concerning her marriage from her father cannot have a religious shade. It is a right of every unmarried daughter irrespective of her religion. There cannot be a discriminatory exclusion from claiming such a right based on one’s religion,” the bench said in its judgment.
The Kerala High Court reviewed two petitions filed by unmarried daughters against their father. The daughters sought ₹45.92 lakh from their father for their marriage expenses and requested a court decree to establish a charge on their father’s property as security. They also sought a temporary injunction to prevent their father from selling the property, which they claimed was bought with assistance from their mother’s family.
The family court, however, only granted an attachment of ₹7.5 lakh to protect the daughters’ interests, deeming it as the minimum necessary expenses for their weddings. Dissatisfied with this decision, the daughters appealed to the High Court, arguing that the family court failed to consider their status as they are currently pursuing higher education and have not received any financial assistance from their father for their expenses.
In contrast, the father maintained that he is the sole owner of the property and building and argued that he is not obliged to pay any amount to his daughters. He further claimed that his daughters and their mothers are Pentecost Christians and that their religious community does not traditionally use gold ornaments in weddings. As a result, he contended that the expenses typically incurred for gold ornaments in weddings would not be applicable to his daughters.
The main issue presented before the Kerala High Court was whether there is a legal provision that entitles Christian daughters to claim marriage expenses from their father’s immovable property or its profits. The Court acknowledged that there is a statutory provision in Section 3(b) of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956, which allows Hindu daughters to receive reasonable expenses for their weddings.
The Court also referred to a previous case, Ismayil v Fathima & Anr., where the Kerala High Court had addressed the question of whether a Muslim father is obligated to pay for his daughter’s marriage expenses. In that case, a division bench of the Court had concluded that not only Muslim fathers, but fathers of all religions have an obligation to fulfill such expenses.
“We unhesitatingly agree with that view,” the Court said.
The Court then pointed out that as per Section 39 of the Transfer of Property Act, if a person has a right to receive maintenance, advancement, or marriage expenses from the profits of an immovable property, such claim can be enforced against the property of the obligated person. Therefore, the petitioner-daughters are entitled to establish a charge on their father’s immovable property, as declared by the Court.
However, the Court also noted that once the property has been attached, there is no need for an additional equitable relief of injunction. With regard to the amount required to cover the expenses, the Court reviewed the pleadings and evidence on record, and determined that an attachment to secure an amount of ₹15 lakh would be sufficient to protect the interests of the petitioners.
The petitioners were represented by advocates Jacob Sebastian, KV Winston, Anu Jacob and Divya R Nair.
The respondent was represented by advocates Shyam S and NK Karnis.
Source: https://www.barandbench.com/news/unmarried-daughter-right-get-marriage-expenses-father-irrespective-religion-kerala-high-court
