Chennai: The COVID-19 pandemic has not only destroyed human lives, but has also uprooted the marital bond between husband and wife, lamented Madras High Court Judge N. Anand Venkatesh. He also observed that some couples, having lived together for only three months, have sought divorce unable to cope with the stress caused by COVID.
In one case where a couple sought divorce, the Alandur Family Court ordered the husband to pay Rs. 10,000 as interim maintenance to the wife.
Hearing the petition filed in the High Court by the person concerned challenging that order, Judge N. Anand Venkatesh said:
The amount fixed by the court is reasonable and not excessive, so I do not wish to interfere with the Family Court’s order. Therefore, the husband was directed to pay the pending maintenance amount within four weeks.
Further, in that order, this court has found that all the family welfare cases that came up for hearing in the past three months involved couples who were married between 2019 and 2022, when the world was affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
In 95 percent of the cases, it is seen that the couples lived together for only 6 to 9 months, and in some cases for only three months.
It appears that when the husband and wife were confined within the same house, the sides of their good and bad traits came to light, and the fear and stress about the future had a direct impact on their marital relationship.
The coronavirus pandemic has destroyed not only human lives but also the institution of marriage. Therefore, in this case, considering that the couple had lived together for only a few months and that, due to the pandemic, they were facing extraordinary circumstances during that period, this court is of the view that such cases should be treated as a separate category.
With this in mind, the District Principal Judges across Tamil Nadu should collect the case details from Family Courts or courts handling matrimonial disputes regarding marriages that took place during the period from 2019 to 2022, and submit them in court at the next hearing.
Based on these data, it will be discussed, with the assistance of lawyers who have extensive experience in Family Court cases, whether a different resolution can be reached in these cases.
The court firmly believes that such a measure will have a positive impact on many families and greatly help them come together harmoniously. He said this.
