A retired Indian couple are taking their only son to court for more than £500,000 as they claim his failure to produce a grandchild has caused them ‘mental agony’.
Sajneev Prasad, 61, and wife Sadhana, 57, filed a petition against son Shrey Sagar and his wife Shubhangi, who married in 2016 and do not have any children.
The marriage was arranged and they were even sent to Thailand for their honeymoon to produce an heir, Sajneev said.
Shrey and Shubhangi must have a child within a year or pay up, the parents claim.
Sajneev Prasad (left) and wife Sadhana (right) are demanding £530,000 from their son and daughter-in-law – or a child within a year, according to court documents in Haridwar, India
Pilot Shrey was trained in the US at his parents’ considerable expense. He returned to India in 2007 as the recession caused an industry slowdown.
Shrey has since worked as a pilot in India – and lives separately from Shubhangi, who also works.
The mother and father gifted the couple an Audi worth £63,000 and paid for their luxurious wedding reception at a five-star hotel.
They claim they’ve spent 25million rupees (£265,000) on their son since he was born.
They now want the exact same amount back – and another 25million in damages.
‘We killed our dreams to raise him’, Sajneev told The National World.
‘It is a dream of every parent to become a grandparent. We had been waiting for years to become grandparents.
The married couple (third from left and third from right) pose for wedding photos in 2016
‘We had been trying to convince our son and his wife but they paid no heed to our demands. We are heartbroken that we will die without seeing [a] grandchild.’
Sajneev also wrote in the parents’ court submission: ‘My son has been married for six years but they are still not planning a baby. At least if we have a grandchild to spend time with, our pain will become bearable.
‘We also had to take a loan to build our house and now we are going through a lot of financial hardships. Mentally too we are quite disturbed because we are living alone.’
The charge submitted to Haridwar District Court was listed as ‘mental agony and harassment’.
It is technically labelled a ‘domestic violence’ case.
Prosecuting lawyer Arvind Kumar Srivastava said the petition will be taken up for hearing by the court in northern India on May 17, AFP reported.
Shrey and Shubhangi will then be formally contacted.
India has a strong joint family system with many generations including grandparents, nephews, aunts and uncles often living in the same household.
However, in recent years the trend has shifted, with young couples preferring to move away from their parents or siblings, and wives – such as in this case – opting to work rather than focus on having children and staying at home.
First published in Daily Mail (UK)