Allahabad High Court: No Legal Obligation for Daughter-in-Law to Support In-Laws

The Allahabad High Court recently ruled that daughters-in-law are not legally obligated to support their parents-in-law under Section 144 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). Justice Madan Pal Singh clarified that statutory maintenance rights do not cover in-laws, and as such, the court dismissed a petition from an elderly couple seeking maintenance from their daughter-in-law.

The court observed that although there might be a moral obligation for the daughter-in-law to maintain her parents-in-law, it cannot be enforced legally without explicit statutory provision. The couple had relied on a family court decision from Agra which had similarly denied their application for maintenance, citing the legal boundaries of the statute.

The couple argued that they were dependent on their deceased son and lacked independent income, while their daughter-in-law, a police constable, was financially stable. However, the court maintained that moral obligations alone do not constitute legal obligations under the current law framework.