Equality should be in its truest sense and not at the expense of either gender, the High Court of Karnataka has said while pointing out that “however admirable our efforts to safeguard women may be, we should not overlook the challenges encountered by men in society”.
“Constitutionally, a female has got equal rights as that of a male. As a matter of fact, women are the primary victims in most situations, but that does not mean that men are not affected by the cruelty of women,” the court observed.
Gender neutral society
Therefore, the court said: “There is necessity for a gender-neutral society. Such society aims at preventing separation of duties according to sex or gender. It will focus on equal treatment of men and women both in domestic affairs and work places.”
Justice Chillakur Sumalatha made the observations while rejecting a petition by a woman, a resident of Hosanagar taluk of Shivamogga district, who had sought direction from the High Court to transfer a matrimonial case, filed by her husband seeking dissolution of marriage to her town from a civil court in N.R. Pura taluk of Chikkamagaluru district.
“Only because the transfer petition is moved by a woman, transfer of the case as sought for cannot be effected. All the attending facts and circumstances have to be looked into,” the High Court said, rejecting her plea. The High Court said that inconvenience projected by the petitioner-wife to attend the court at N.R. Pura will not be greater than the inconvenience that will be faced by her husband if the case is transferred to the wife’s town.
Children with father
Noticing that the couple have two children, aged nine and seven, the High Court said the children are residing with their father, who is taking care of them after the dispute rose between the couple. Taking note of the claim that he has to cook, feed, and send the children to school before attending court proceedings, the High Court said transfer of case would cause more inconvenience to the man.
Published – January 22, 2025 09:03 pm IST
