Parents take son to court - 6th June 2022

A couple who are upset about not having grandchildren are taking legal action. They've taken their son to court. This very unusual case is making headlines in India.

The parents, Sanjeev and Sadhana Prasad, 61 and 57, say they have little spare cash after bringing up their only son. They had to finance his pilot training, his wedding and his honeymoon, and they're fed up. Now 6 years since the wedding, with no sign of any grandchildren, the parents have lost patience. They're demanding a grandchild in the next 12 months, or to be paid back 50 million rupees, which is $650,000.

The younger couple are keeping silent at the moment, but it's evident that relations are tense. According to Sadhana, she and her husband have suffered "mental cruelty" from the public because their son and his wife have refused to have children.

"We are very unhappy," her husband Sanjeev commented. "We are retired. We want to be grandparents." He added that "grandchildren bring joy into people's lives."

This is the first time disappointed parents have taken their child to court for grandchildren, but expert anthropologist Professor Vasavi sees the "cultural logic" and explains it's normal in that society to expect grandchildren. "In India," she says, "marriages are between families and not just a couple."

Vasavi can understand the Prasads' way of thinking, but who knows what the courts will decide.