Rampur: In a case that sounds straight out of a scriptwriter’s notebook, a village panchayat in Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur district has delivered a verdict that has left locals amused, astonished and busy retelling the story. Instead of dividing land or property, the panchayat this time divided a living, breathing husband.
The unusual episode unfolded in Naglia Aqil village under the Azim Nagar police station area, where a man found himself caught between two wives. One marriage was arranged, the other a love match. Both women asserted full rights over him and refused to back down, turning the household into a daily wrestling ring of arguments.
Residents say the frequent fights became so routine that neighbours no longer needed television for evening entertainment. As tempers rose, both wives marched into Azim Nagar police station with the husband in tow, each demanding custody. The police, faced with a problem not found in any rulebook, decided the matter was best left to the village elders.
A panchayat was convened with the man, both wives and their families present. After lengthy deliberations that reportedly rivalled a courtroom drama, the elders announced a formula that left the gathering stunned and then smiling. The husband, they ruled, would be shared by the week.
According to the written decision, he will stay with the first wife on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and with the second wife on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Sunday, the panchayat declared, will be his “freedom day,” when he is free to live wherever he pleases and presumably recover from the rest of the week.
The agreement was put on paper and signed by the man and both wives, giving official status to what many villagers are already calling the most creative timetable in recent memory.
The ruling has since become the hottest topic in tea shops and street corners across the area. While all three have returned home in accordance with the panchayat order, locals are still shaking their heads and laughing over a question that refuses to go away: can domestic peace really come with a weekly roster?
