April 3, 2010
A magisterial court here has ruled in favour of an eleven-year-old boy, directing his father, a divorcee, to pay him a monthly amount of Rs 1500 towards educational expenses under the Protection to Women from Domestic Violence Act (PWDVA) provisions, invoked perhaps for the first time by a male.
The order was passed by Umeshchandra More, JMFC on Thursday following a petition moved by the boy alleging negligence on part of his father who did not pay adequate sum to bear his educational expenses.
The boy has been put under a permanent custody of his mother since 2005 after the couple separated.
Aseem Sarode, the lawyer who represented the boy, said the court ruling was the first of its kind in the country, establishing "gender neutral effect" of the PWDVA Act which is normally perceived to be used only by females to redress their grievances.
"Section 2 of PWDVA specifically mentions the word child which is used in a gender neutral way under which any person below the age of 18---including stepchildren, adopted or foster children of any gender could take recourse to the legislation," he said.
Sarode who is also a human rights activist, said the court ruling would make access to justice easy for a neglected population of persons below the age of 18 and offer a new avenue to protect the rights of children.
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