A man must overcome all hurdles in order to maintain his family. Time to develop multi-tasking skills to earn during pandemic. Karnataka High Court

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Mervin Felix Caleb vs Nisha and another. Revision Petition Family Court No. 205/2020 decided on 20 November 2020.

Judgement Link:http://judgmenthck.kar.nic.in/judgmentsdsp/bitstream/123456789/354032/1/RPFC205-16-20-11-2020.pdf

Relevant portion. In the last resort, learned counsel argued that at present, respondent is unemployed due to Covid-19 Pandemic. Therefore, counsel submitted that respondent is not in a position to pay maintenance to petitioner No.2 as ordered by the Family Court.

I may venture to say that this is an interesting case to address the question whether a father can shirk his responsibility from maintaining his minor son under the guise of pandemic? It is true that the world is facing an unprecedented crisis.

No doubt, COVID-19 has brought several parts of  the globe almost to the brink of extinction  of  mankind what with scientists, doctors et al, toiling day and night for not only the treatment of patients but also in search of vaccine for the effective treatment of the pandemic.

It is also true that the COVID-19 pandemic has left millions of people around the world jobless and are coping with trauma caused by the pandemic. Whether it’s temporary or permanent, unemployment can lead to  stress, anxiety, depression and other mental health challenges. Uncertainty related to the COVID-19 pandemic only adds to the angst. But one must learn how to cope with the mental and emotional effects of unemployment during this pandemic.

It is perhaps well to observe that insofar as a family  is concerned, the head of the family [particularly, if it is a male member], has the onus of maintaining his family. He cannot shirk his responsibility from maintaining the family under the garb of pandemic. Every person has to develop multi-tasking skills so that if he loses one vocation, he should be able to switch over to the other.

Alternatively, one option is that every person has to search for alternative mode of employment at least as a temporary measure [or till he is restored to his original vocation] and try to fill not only his stomach but also of those who are dependent on them, be it employees or family members.

Compiled by S. Basavaraj, Advocate, Daksha Legal.