Stock photo of a bride at a traditional Indian wedding
(Picture: AFP/Getty Images)An Indian couple are suing their son and his wife for failing to provide them with a grandchild.
Sanjiv Ranjan and Sadhana Prasad, from the northern state of Uttarakhand, are seeking £530,000 in compensation if they do not have a child in the next 12 months.
The pair said their son’s failure to have a grandchild after six years of marriage had caused them “mental harassment”.
They are now requesting money to compensate for paying for his education and wedding.
“I gave my son all my money, got him trained in America. I don’t have any money now. We have taken a loan from the bank to build a home. We’re troubled financially and personally,” said Mr Prasad, who is awaiting a response from his son to the legal petition.
“We finally got him married in 2016 with the hope that we would get us a grandchild to play with in our retirement age.”
Mr Prasad said that he had paid for his son’s wedding at a five-star hotel, a luxury car worth £63,000 and even supported him financially for two years before he was able to get a job as a pilot.
Many Indian children have traditionally faced pressure from their parents to have children soon after marriage but some couples are now choosing to wait longer and focus on their careers or personal lives.
The lawyer representing Mr and Mrs Prasad said the case “portrays the truth of [Indian] society” and that the son, whose identity is yet to be made public, owed his parents for their support.
The case is believed to be the first of its kind in India and has attracted global attention.
