Man fighting for harassed husbands fined 1L

THIS IS DISGUSTING.

As usual, no one listens to men in court. A social activist has been fined Rupees 1 Lac because he suggested that men be protected against the misuse. When will the sex starved Indian judiciary start to think beyond women?

Your honour – We men are also human beings. Just because women are tortured in your family does not mean the same  is happening everywhere in the country. I will pray to God that you die soon!

 

AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat HC on Thursday slapped a penalty of Rs 1 lakh on Dashrath Devda, president of Akhil Bharatiya Patni Atyachar Virodhi Sangh for protesting against alleged misuse of domestic violence laws. A division bench fined him for filing frivolous PIL and for wasting court’s time.

Devda had approached the HC by way of filing a PIL demanding judicial interference in the alleged misuse of protection laws for women. He was demanding a protection in legislation for men, who are according to him henpecked by their wives.

Devda has been claiming that women have abused the laws, which are in favour of them, but certain protection for men is also required against the misuse of the legislation. He filed this PIL, which came up for hearing before a division bench. When Devda began arguments as party-in-person, the court asked him to withdraw his PIL because his demand was to amend the legislation. Refusing to pay any attention to what the court was hinting at, Devda continued to argue how women in this country are worshipped, and no law is required for their protection. However, the chief justice repeatedly asked him to withdraw the PIL.

Ultimately, the court imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on Devda and asked him to pay the money to the Self Employed Women’s Association — an NGO working for women empowerment. The court has directed Devda to pay the amount of penalty within two months.

Devda and members of his association often stage demonstrations and take out rallies in the city in protest against the domestic violence laws. They also help men in court proceedings, who face charges of domestic violence from their spouses. In this PIL also, Devda tried to assert their views that different pieces of legislation favouring women are misused, and ultimate sufferers are the family members. The association has been protesting against anti-dowry law of Section 498A of IPC, alimony related provisions in Section 125 of CrPC and the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Man-fighting-for-harassed-husbands-fined-1L-by-HC/articleshow/6991947.cms#ixzz16VEaV2F0

Wife’s mentally disturbed condition not enough to prove husband’s cruelty

Mumbai: A soured marriage and the resultant disturbed mental condition of a woman who committed suicide were not sufficient reasons to infer that the husband subjected her to cruelty, the Bombay high court ruled earlier this month.

Setting aside the two-year imprisonment sentence handed out to Kamalkishore Agrawal, 48, by a sessions court, the Nagpur bench of the high court held that, “though it appears that the victim and the applicant had marital discord running over a long period of time which, even according to the applicant, led to mental degradation of the victim, that in itself cannot justify the conclusion that the victim was subjected to such mental or physical cruelty by the applicant, that it drove her to death.”

Agrawal, a businessman, and Seema were married on February 24, 1992. After their marriage, “as caste and custom so permitted,” Agrawal’s adoptive parents also resided with the couple in their home in Akola. The couple had a daughter in 1993. However, since there were differences between the couple and Agrawal’s adoptive parents, they moved out of the house and started living separately from 1997.

On March 12, 1998, Seema set herself on fire and succumbed to burn injuries. A police complaint was lodged by her brother, Kailash, who had stated in his statement that Seema had written letters to him, which said that she was being subjected to cruelty in her marital home and it was not possible for her to live there any longer.

Agrawal’s counsel, however, told the court that there was no “causal connection” between the letters and Seema’s suicide as the last letter written by her was in 1996, while the incident took place in 1998. Moreover, he added, some of the letters were not addressed to Kailash and it was questionable how he was in possession of them.

The additional public prosecutor, however, said that the letters were in Seema’s handwriting and how they came into Kailash’s possession was irrelevant. She further stated that Agrawal in his defense had said that Seema had become so weak mentally that she either sent the letters to the wrong addresses or handed them over to the wrong people. “This written statement of defense categorically shows that the accused admits that the victim was mentally sick. If that was so, as a husband, it was necessary for the applicant to find out as to why his wife slipped into that stage,” the prosecution argued.

Agrawal had contended that Seema suspected she was being subjected to black magic and refused to take any medicines from him. He told the court that he was torn between his wife and his adoptive parents.

The sessions court acquitted Agrawal and his adoptive parents from the charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder but convicted Agrawal under Section 498A (cruelty) of the IPC.

Justice RC Chavan, however, said, “suspicion, howsoever strong, cannot replace proof.” He said with the evidence on record it was not possible to conclusively say that the husband had treated his wife with cruelty, which led her to commit suicide and quashed the conviction and sentence handed out to Agrawal.

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_wife-s-mentally-disturbed-condition-not-enough-to-prove-husband-s-cruelty-says-high-court_1327888

Wife’s mentally disturbed condition not enough to prove husband’s cruelty

Woman fined Rs 50K for filing frivolous petition

NEW DELHI: An exemplary cost of Rs 50,000 was slapped on a woman on Thursday by the Delhi HC which took exception to her tactics to stall divorce.

proceedings filed against her by her husband on grounds of desertion. HC was irked by her move to file a frivolous petition to delay the divorce proceedings initiated by her husband in a family court.

“I find that this petition is frivolous and is liable to be dismissed with an exemplary cost…” said Justice Shiv Narayan Dhingra in a judgement while dismissing a petition filed by Sujata Aggarwal challenging a family court decision to reject her application for adjournment in 2007.

“Every kind of excuse available on the earth had been put forward for seeking adjournments and all tactics had been adopted to delay the proceedings,” HC observed and referred to the lower court order that had stated that Sujata had taken several adjournments since 2001 to delay the proceeding in the divorce case filed by her husband Ravi Shankar Aggarwal in 1998.

Justice Dhingra also said, neither the wife nor her counsel appeared before the family court in August 2001 to receive the alimony paid by her husband, thereby strenghtening suspicion that their intention was only to delay proceedings.

“The ground on which the husband sought divorce is desertion. Sujata had an option to lead her evidence to show that she had not deserted and fault lied on the side of the husband. Instead of leading evidence and appearing in the court she had just seen to it that the case does not proceed,” the Court said.

On March 3, 2007, the family court had dismissed an application filed by Sujata for an adjournment in the 1998 case for divorce sought by her husband on the ground of desertion by his wife. After allowing several applications filed by Sujata and granting adjournments several times since 2001 on one or other grounds taken by the wife, the family court had dismissed her plea for further adjournment.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Delhi/Woman_fined_Rs_50K_for_filing_frivolous_petition/articleshow/3605191.cms