Domestic abuse payout hiked from Rs 5L to Rs 1cr

Time of India

2 days ago

Mumbai: Noting that a person running an elevator company would surely be "rolling in money", a sessions court increased the compensation for a domestic violence survivor from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 1 crore.
The judge said a substantial enhancement was needed to compensate for the 20 years of torture, humiliation and economic abuse the 41-year-old woman suffered at the hands of her 44-year-old husband. The monthly maintenance was also hiked from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh for the woman and their minor daughter.
The domestic violence survivor had moved a Mumbai sessions court in 2021 after the magistrate's court in the same year awarded her what the sessions court labelled as "meagre" compensation.
The judge's decision was based on the husband's substantial financial resources and the initial compensation being deemed insufficient. "The fact that the complainant has to now also suffer being estranged from her two sons, as the respondent appears to have influenced them against their mother, is also something which cannot be ignored," Additional Sessions Judge S J Ansari said.
The judge said though it was held the woman was not able to prove that her parents-in-law subjected her to domestic violence, the fact remains they never stopped their son from mistreating her.
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"Even otherwise, having the capacity to earn by itself cannot result in the rejection of any claim of maintenance by a complainant who is subjected to domestic violence at the hands of her husband," the judge said.
Represented by advocate Ninad Muzumdar, the woman told the court that the man also had a vast steel business spread over five states and 11 cities, with an annual turnover of about Rs 20-25 crore. In addition, the family owned seven properties, including two flats, four row houses, and two commercial spaces.
The judge also prohibited the man and his parents from dispossessing the woman and her daughter from their residence. They were also restrained from transferring ownership of the property. Additionally, the lower court's order preventing the man from committing domestic violence against the complainant and her daughter remains in effect.
The now estranged couple married in 1997 and separated in 2016. The woman lives with their daughter, who she said was unwanted by her husband and his family since her birth in 2006.
The judge noted the husband in 2012 had the financial capacity to purchase land and a flat worth more than Rs 1 crore. "Not only this, but the fact of the respondent not coming forth with the best evidence pertaining to his finances, and of an adverse inference being therefore required to be drawn against him, has also been noted," the judge said.
The woman, who had a bachelor's degree in home science, said in Feb 1998, she became pregnant with triplets but miscarried due to the stress in the family on account of her husband and parents-in-law, who used to blame and taunt her.
The DV complaint was also filed against the parents, who are 80 and 76, respectively. The woman said she even overdosed on sleeping pills as she was depressed. She said soon after her marriage, she noticed that her in-laws fought for trivial reasons while her husband would often get upset and say that he would kill her.
The woman said she was assaulted when pregnant with her twin boys in 2000. She alleged she was not allowed to breastfeed the infants, who were given bottled milk, and was made to work in the kitchen for long hours. She said the situation worsened after the birth of her daughter. She alleged her husband hit her with the buckle end of his belt, mosquito bat, hanger, shoes, and banged her head on the walls and table on several occasions.
When she was left bleeding during one such assault in 2016, an FIR was filed. Thereafter, in 2017, the husband and his parents, along with the twins, left the shared household. The husband and parents-in-law denied all allegations.
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