Matrimonial disputes: Kerala HC says courts may not take gold entrusted to bride based on social customs

The Kerala High Court has ruled that courts hearing matrimonial disputes cannot presume that a bride has entrusted gold to her husband or in-laws based on social custom or in general.

Justice AK Jayasankaran Nambiar said that while considering the wife’s claims for return of gold or money she brought with her at the time of her marriage, the court must look for oral, documentary or circumstantial evidence that can be used to conclude whether such gold or money was entrusted to or misappropriated by the husband or his relatives.

The court held that the common practice in the past of a bride entrusting her gold ornaments or ‘sthridhan’ to her husband/mother-in-law for safekeeping may not reflect the present day where many educated and financially independent brides retain control over all their material possessions even after entering the matrimonial home.

The court noted that the changed position of women in modern society, the extent of their empowerment and the feminine perspective they bring to understanding social customs and practices must be taken into account. Courts hearing matrimonial disputes must insist on evidence in these aspects.

The court was hearing an appeal against the order of the Muvattupuzha family court, where the wife alleged that her father had paid her father-in-law ₹5,000 and that she had 90 sovereigns with gold ornaments at the wedding. She stated that her husband took 60 gold sovereigns for safekeeping in a bank locker soon after the wedding and later did not return them and that she was subjected to harassment for additional dowry.

The husband denied the wife’s claim of 60 sovereigns and also denied demanding or receiving ₹500 from her father.

The court allowed the appeal in part and ordered the husband and his father to return to the wife CZK 5,000 with interest at 6% from the date of the original application and 30 sovereigns of gold or its market value at the time of payment.

Published – 15 Jul 2026 11:52 IST