Kerala High Court: Courts Cannot Assume Bride Entrusted Gold Based on Customs Alone

The Kerala High Court has ruled that courts dealing with matrimonial disputes must not presume that a bride entrusted her gold or other valuables to her husband or in-laws based solely on social customs or general practices.

Justice A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar observed that while examining a wife's claim for the return of gold or money she brought at marriage, courts must look for oral, documentary, or circumstantial evidence to determine whether such items were entrusted to the husband or his relatives, or were misappropriated by them.

The court noted that the earlier general practice of a bride entrusting her gold ornaments or 'sthridhan' to her husband or mother-in-law for safekeeping may not reflect the present reality. Many well-educated and financially independent brides today retain control over their possessions even after entering the matrimonial home.

The judgment emphasised that courts must consider the changed status of women in modern society, the extent of their empowerment, and the feminine perspective on social customs. Evidence on these aspects is necessary before reaching conclusions.

The ruling came while hearing an appeal against an order of the Muvattupuzha Family Court. The wife had alleged that her father paid ₹5 lakh to her father-in-law and that she wore 90 sovereigns of gold ornaments at her wedding. She claimed her husband took 60 sovereigns soon after marriage for safekeeping in a bank locker but later failed to return them, and that she faced harassment for additional dowry.

The husband denied the claim regarding the 60 sovereigns and also denied demanding or receiving ₹5 lakh from the wife's father.

The High Court partly allowed the appeal, directing the husband and his father to return ₹5 lakh with 6% interest from the date of filing the original petition, and 30 sovereigns of gold or its market value at the time of payment, to the wife.