MOOT PROPOSITION

INTRA- UNIVERSITY MOOT COURT COMPETITION 2017

TAMIL NADU NATIONAL LAW SCHOOL, TIRUCHIRAPPALLI

1. Steffi Johnson, a Christian by birth and an intelligent and vibrant girl, graduated from a
prestigious National Law School in India in the year 2008 and joined Mylegal Consultants,
a reputed law firm located in Mumbai. Ishaan Rajput, a Hindu by birth, also a pass out of
the same law school works as a tax lawyer with a reputed tax firm based in Mumbai. Both
of them were college sweethearts and decided to get married in the year 2010 against the
wishes of Steffis parents and registered their marriage under the Special Marriage Act,
1954.

2. After the marriage, Steffi moved into Ishaans home in Andheri, who lived there with his
mother, a housewife and father, a retired army personnel who currently runs a charitable
old age home. Steffi despite her busy schedule, occasionally used to help her father in law
in running the old age home and taking care of the inmates.

3. Both of them were happily leading their married life and work life and they decided to
have a baby in 2012. After few unsuccessful attempts of conceiving a child, they resorted
to IVF technique. In pursuance to that, Steffi decided to quit her well paid job and focus
on the treatment. Subsequently, in the year 2015 Steffi and Ishaan had a pair of twins.
During this time Steffis mother in law had a cardiac arrest and eventually paralysed her
body and was bed-ridden.

4. While Steffi had a tough time looking after her babies and bed-ridden mother in law, she
continued to face resentment from her parents who did not want to lend her a helping
hand, despite her repeated request. Her situation was worsened owing to her continued
assistance rendered to her father in law in the old age home. Furthermore, she could not
gather any support or help from Ishaan, who being a tax lawyer was extremely pre-
occupied with GST work and often came home late or stayed out of town. Worse still, she
had gone low on finances as all her savings were spent on the IVF treatment. To better
her position, she started going to a nearby school as a French tutor occasionally and got a
meagre amount in return.
5. Steffi at this stage of life felt an identity crisis, overburdened with daily chores,
responsibilities of being a mother of two, acting as a nurse to her mother in law and
assistant to her father in law, without any recognition or assistance, financial or otherwise.

6. One fine morning Steffi came across an article in the newspaper that talked about the
Indian Parliament passing an Act titled Compulsory payment of Honorarium to
Housewives Act (CHH). Upon further research she found out that the mentioned Act
has been recently passed by the Indian Parliament in the year 2017 (date of commencement
of the Act being 23.02.2017) with an objective of .an Act to provide for a compulsory
honorarium payable to housewives in recognition of their work and for matters connected therewith or
incidental thereto.
7. Upon perusing through the said law, her attention was drawn to the below mentioned
provisions of the Act.

.
2. Scope & Applicability- (1) This Act applies to housewives who have contracted
a marriage under various personal laws or secular laws existing and have registered
their marriage compulsorily under the relevant laws in force in India.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in any law in force, this Act shall only
apply to housewives who have no regular source of income.
3. Definitions- For purposes of this Act, unless the context otherwise requires-
(a) Honorarium means and includes any maintenance paid to a Housewife under
this Act.
(b) Housewife means any married woman who is in a legally subsisting marriage
as recognised and registered under any personal or secular laws in force in India
but does not include any married woman, whether separated or not, who has ever
availed any right to maintenance under any other law in force in India.
(c) Income means income under Income Tax Act, 1961.

4. Payment of Honorarium- Every house wife as defined under the Act is entitled
to claim a fixed honorarium from the husband on a monthly basis depending upon
the income and status of her husband.
 5. Powers of State Government - The State Government shall within a period of
three months from the date of commencement of this Act take all measures to
ensure that-
(i) an appropriate enforcement agency is constituted in every district for purpose
of deciding upon the quantum of honorarium as under Section 4 of this Act;
(ii) necessary directions are framed for timely payment of honorarium to the
beneficiaries under a disbursement scheme.

8. Steffi decided to avail the rights guaranteed to her under the Act. On 31.07.2017, she
approached the Supreme Court seeking directions from the Court to provide for
establishment of an enforcement authority for effective implementation of the Act. She
also pleads the need for a penalty clause in case of a default under the Act, in absence of
which the provisions would not be effectively implemented. Additionally, she also sought
direction from the Supreme Court directing her husband to pay her the honorarium that
she is entitled to under the Act.
9. Being the first of its kind in India, Steffis petition before the Apex Court gained
widespread popularity and was publicised by media. Disturbed by the petition filed by
Steffi in the Court and the increasing public response in favour of Steffi, Ishaan approaches
Save Indian Family Foundation for help. Save Indian Family Foundation (SIFF) is a
voluntary non-Governmental association of married men that aims at ending
discrimination of men and male disposability. SIFF files a petition before the Apex Court
challenging the constitutionality of the Act and its applicability to Steffi.
10. The Apex Court has decided to hear both the matters together and hearing is up before a
Division Bench of the Court on 19.08.2017.