News of an unusual lawsuit from India has been making rounds on the internet for a few days. According to the details of the bizarre lawsuit, a couple is suing their only son and his wife for not giving them a grandchild even after spending six years as a married couple together.

Harli Marten/Unsplash. The old Indian couple is unhappy with their son and daughter-in-law as they have not yet had grandchildren.

The couple from India, Sanjeev and Sadhana Prasad had to say that they spent all their life savings in raising their son, paying for his education as he trained to become a pilot, and then finally throwing him a lavish wedding reception and a honeymoon. The couple, both aged 61 and 57, said that now it is time for payback, and the couple should give them a grandchild immediately, or reimburse the total amount of money they spent on their son and his education, which sums up to 50 million rupees, equivalent to $650,000.

Wesley Ingey/Unsplash. The old couple sued their son and daughter in law for $650,000 or give them a grandchild immediately.

The son and his wife have not yet commented on the lawsuit, but the entire ordeal shows that the relationship between the couple and the parents is not on very good terms, as evident by the detailed reading of the court petition.

Sadhana Prasad talked further about the lawsuit to BBC India. She said that the decision of not having any children by his son and daughter-in-law is causing others’ to taunt them, and the mental anguish they have to face because of not yet becoming grandparents is amount to ‘mental cruelty’.

Liquid Artiste Arya/Unsplash. The decision to procreate in the Indian society is seldom taken by the couple themselves.

She further said that the older couple had no option but to resort to legal action, as whenever they tried talking to the couple, they were shut down. The decision by his son and his wife of not having children means that the family name would be soon dead, Sadhana had to say.

Sanjeev expressed that they are very unhappy with his son’s decision of not procreating. Since they are now retired, they wish to become grandparents and had even offered the young couple to look after their children. According to Sadhana and Sanjeev Prasad, grandchildren bring immense joy in the lives of people, and they were deprived of this joy for a long time.

The decision of procreation in a conservative society such as India is never the couple’s alone. There is always an added pressure from parents and in-laws to have a child immediately after getting married. This is perhaps the first time such an issue has been taken to court, but the right to planning one’s family is perhaps never truly enjoyed by couples in India.

Roberta Cole