Widow's right to late husband's family home explained by court
The Bombay High Court just made it clear: a widow has the right to live in her late husband's family home.
This comes after a 43-year-old woman from Nagpur lost her husband back in 2008 while they were building their family flat.
Her brother-in-law tried to stop her from moving in, arguing she'd never actually lived there before.
Court backs earlier order letting widow stay
The court dismissed the brother-in-law's appeal and backed an earlier order letting the widow stay on the ground floor.
Under Section 17 of the Domestic Violence Act, women have the right to live in their matrimonial home—even if they hadn't lived there before or if there's family drama.
Justice Urmila Joshi Phalke pointed out that denying a woman access to her shared household is not just unfair—it counts as domestic violence.
This decision is another step toward making sure women aren't left without support after losing their spouses.