Woman files case against daughter-in-law

Nov 12, 2010

72-yr-old says daughter-in-law frequently beat her up, turned her out of her home; bahu says opposite is true
A 72-Year-old woman has filed a case against her daughter-in-law under the Domestic Violence Act.

Complainant Kanta Sudhakar Sharma claimed her daughter-in-law Ruby had beaten her up frequently and extorted money from her on several occasions.

Counter-allegation
Ruby had another story to tell, saying it was she who was the aggrieved party.

"My husband Ajay is living with another woman and is hand-in-glove with his mother. Both have plotted to force me to leave home," said Ruby. "For this man I left my family and changed my religion. But when they asked for dowry and harassed me, I did not bow to their demands. Now that he has found someone else, he and his mother are trying every trick to force me to vacate my flat."

Kanta refuted the allegations. She said she had filed a police complaint at the Hinjewadi police station
in October 2009, but found the police took no action.

She then filed a case under the Domestic Violence Act 2005, under Sections 18, 19 and 23, seeking restoration of her legal right to live in the property which she jointly owns with her son.

"Ruby mortgaged my flat for Rs 10 lakh without consulting me. My son left home after he was subjected to continuous torture by my daughter-in-law," said Kanta. "He has sent her a notice for restitution of conjugal rights in May this year. Even after I was driven out of my home, my daughter-in-law continued to demand money to pay the electricity bill."

Kanta has also sought police protection and Rs 5,000 monthly maintenance from her son and daughter-in-law.

Legal position
Her lawyer, Advocate Dinkar Bhavsar said his client would continue to fight for justice.

"We filed a case on August 2 this year. My client has filed a case against her daughter-in-law and son after she was shown the door. We are talking about a complainant who is 72, is a blood pressure patient and has
been frequently beaten up," said Bhavsar. "The respondent even took objection, saying that the respondent in
a domestic violence case can not be a woman, but according to the law the respondent can be any person related to the husband. In this case the respondents are the son and his wife."

Ruby said it was difficult for her to go through the tormenting situation.

"Whatever she says is a lie. I got married to Ajay in 2005, changed my religion and became Hindu for them," said Ruby. "Ajay is living with the other woman and whatever my mother-in-law is doing is just to vacate the flat. Ajay even stooped to the level of calling me just to force me to listen to him making love to the other woman."