LAXMIPRIYA MISHRA Vs. SMT. BINAPANI MISHRA AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) "Life can be bitter to the very bone, when one is poor, and woman and alone" said John Massfield in "The Widow in the Bye Street." The septuagenarian Petitioner lost her son Bhagyadhar Misra who was working as a Peon in Salipur High School in October, 1988. She asserts that her daughter -in -law, the opp. party No. 1 is bound to maintain her, because she is recipient of all benefits that were made available to the family, after the death of Bhagyadhar.

(2.) A counter affidavit has been filed by the opp. party No. 1, primarily taking the stand that she is not in law, required to maintain her mother -in -law. It is also asserted that the Petitioner has another son who is serving in Cuttack Municipality, and the Petitioner can very well stay with the other son.

(3.) UNDISPUTEDLY , family pension is being received by the opp. party No. 1. The same is intended for the benefit of all the members of the deceased's family, obviously including the Petitioner. The opp. party No. 1 should not hide behind screens of technicalities to deny her obligations to look after the welfare of the aged, poor mother -in -law. For her, life is ''a crust of bread and a corner to sleep in, a minute to smile and an hour to weep in" as Paul Laurence Dunbar in "Life." For her, "Life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles with sniffles predominating" (per O. Henry in 'Gift of the Magi"). After marriage, the opp. party No. 1 became Petitioner's daughter "in law". From her parental house she came to the' family of her husband of which Petitioner is an important member. They shared the joys and sorrows together. Shall that bond of relationship, love, affection be permitted to be snapped on hyper -technical premises? The answer is an emphatic "no."