In a case Akza Rajan v. Rajan M.S [2023/KER/23485], the High Court of Kerala made a significant ruling about a father’s duty to pay for his daughters’ wedding expenses. The court ruled that unmarried daughters, aged 21 and 26, have a legal right to receive a reasonable amount for their marriages from their father, not just a moral one. This right, the court declared, applies to all fathers regardless of their religion.
The Daughters’ Claim
The two daughters sued their father for Rs 45,92,600 to cover their wedding costs. They also wanted a court order to prevent their father from selling or damaging his property, specifically a house built on land they claimed he bought with money from their mother’s jewelry and family members. The daughters, who were living with their estranged mother, argued their father was misusing the property.
The Family Court’s View
The Family Court noted that the parents had a very strained relationship and were involved in legal disputes. It observed that the daughters weren’t seeking educational expenses or a share of the property itself, but only a legal claim (a “charge”) on the property for the wedding money. The Family Court said it could not create such a charge, but only recognize one that already existed.
The High Court’s Decision
The High Court considered if a Christian daughter, like a Hindu daughter, had the right to get money for her marriage from her father.
The court referred to a previous case, Ismayil v. Fathima, which established that every father, regardless of religion, has an obligation to pay for his daughter’s marriage expenses. The court emphasized that the right to marriage expenses is not tied to a person’s religion. It stated that no one should be excluded from this right based on their faith.
The High Court found that the father in this case had a clear obligation to pay for his daughters’ weddings. However, the court dismissed the daughters’ claim for a large amount of gold, as they had not denied their Pentecostal faith, which typically disavows such ornaments. After reviewing the case, the High Court decided that Rs 15 lakhs was a reasonable amount to secure the daughters’ interests. To ensure making this money available, it allowed the attachment of the father’s property.
The High Court did not, however, completely forbid the father from selling the property. Instead, it directed the Family Court to lift the attachment if the father provided Rs 15 lakhs as security in the form of fixed deposit or some other method.
