A Mumbai sessions court increased compensation from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 1 crore for a woman facing 20 years of domestic abuse, calling her husband “crorepati” and “rolling in money.” Monthly maintenance was also raised to Rs 1.5 lakh for her and her daughter.
Mumbai: Today, on June 06, a sessions court in Mumbai has increased the compensation awarded to a woman in a domestic violence case from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 1 crore.
The court observed that her husband, who owns an elevator company, and his family are very wealthy and described them as “crorepatis.”
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The court also raised the monthly maintenance given to the woman and her daughter from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh. It acknowledged the severe “physical and mental torture” that the woman suffered during her marriage, saying that such suffering can “scarcely be imagined.”
The order was passed last month by Additional Sessions Judge S J Ansari from Dindoshi Court. He said the initial compensation of Rs 5 lakh given by a magistrate was “meagre” considering the woman had endured “torture and humiliation” for 20 years.
The victim is a 41-year-old housewife who challenged the magistrate’s February 2020 compensation order under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act.
She told the court that she faced long years of physical, emotional, and financial abuse from her husband and his family since her marriage in December 1997.
The sessions court pointed out that the woman was forced to take legal action only after suffering “beatings, severe assaults, taunts and even financial deprivation” during almost two decades of marriage.
The judge emphasized that the
“physical and mental torture”
the woman faced while living with her husband
“can scarcely be imagined.”
The magistrate had initially awarded Rs 5 lakh as compensation. The woman said this amount was too small, but the husband argued that she was not entitled to any compensation at all.
The husband claimed he suffered because of his wife’s “behaviour” and said his financial condition was now “precarious.” He told the court that he pays rent for the home where he lives with their twin sons and takes care of their education and living expenses, leaving him with nothing.
However, the court did not accept the husband’s claim and confirmed that the woman was a victim of domestic violence. It noted that in 2012, the husband and his father had the financial means to buy land and a flat worth more than Rs 1 crore.
The man could not prove that his financial condition was bad despite his efforts, the court said.
The judge stated,
“On the other hand, he being in a position to purchase properties worth Rs 1 crore in 2012, and presently running an elevator company, will surely be rolling in money.”
Based on evidence, the court said the husband and his family are “crorepatis.” Since the man is “extremely rich,” the court found that the Rs 5 lakh compensation earlier given to the woman “is too meagre an amount.”
The court further ruled,
“The same requires a very substantial enhancement so as to actually compensate the complainant for the 20 years of torture, humiliation, economic abuse, taunts, etc., undergone by her at the hands of the respondent no. 1.”
The court also expressed concern that the woman now faces the pain of being separated from her two sons. It noted that the husband seems to have influenced the sons against their mother and said, “is also something which cannot be ignored.”
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Advocate Ninad Muzumdar appeared for the wife, Advocate Saveena Bedi appeared for the husband, Advocate Uday Pal appeared for the parents-in-law.
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