The Supreme Court on Thursday underscored that marriage is built on interdependence and not on the idea of absolute independence. A bench comprising Justices BV Nagarathna and R Mahadevan remarked that those who are unwilling to rely on their partners should reconsider entering into matrimony at all.

“Marriage is about the union of two individuals and two souls. No husband or wife can say that they want to remain entirely independent of their spouse,” Justice Nagarathna observed during the hearing of a marital dispute.

The case involves a couple with two young children, where the husband, currently working in Singapore, is visiting India, while the wife resides in Hyderabad. Concerned about the children’s upbringing, the bench noted: “If the parents reconcile, it will be in the best interest of the children. They should not suffer for no fault of theirs.”

The wife, appearing via video conference, claimed that her husband was only concerned with custody and visitation rights, not genuine reconciliation. She alleged she had received no maintenance and was struggling as a single mother. Responding to her argument that she did not wish to be dependent on anyone, Justice Nagarathna pointedly said: “Once you are married, you are emotionally, if not financially, dependent on your spouse. If you wanted no dependency at all, you should not have married.”

The bench urged both sides to work towards resolving their differences. It also recorded the husband’s willingness to halt divorce proceedings in the hope of reconciliation.

As an interim relief, the court directed that the father be given custody of the children on weekends in August and permitted him to celebrate his younger son’s birthday before returning the children to their mother the same day.