LCI Learning

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share on LinkedIn

Share on Email

Share More


(Guest)

Abused hubby gets divorce, Son’s Custody

Title:  Abused hubby gets divorce, Son’s Custody
August 8, 2010


Mumbai: Purushottam Mahajan got divorce from his wife Pallavi and was also granted custody of his son after he recorded the daily abuse he got from his wife, using spy cameras and presented them as evidence in court.


Aarey Colony resident uses videos shot by secret cameras at his residence to prove his case


A man who was thrashed by his wife and had recorded the abuse using spy cameras to present it as evidence in his divorce proceedings has won the case and the legal custody of his 11-year-old son.


Purushottam Mahajan, 44, who was locked in divorce and custody battle with his wife Pallavi for over two years, installed secret cameras at their Aarey Colony house to capture how she abused him physically in his son’s presence. In November 2009, the video was uploaded on YouTube by an NGO to show how law was heavily loaded against men in cases of marital discord.


Eight months after the video went up, the Bandra Family Court last month handed over the custody of the child, Aum, to his father. The battered husband fought his case himself armed with the video evidence. He argued Aum’s future was more secure in his custody than his wife’s.


The couple got married in 1999, but the relationship soured within a year. Purushottam alleges that there were regular fights and he would often get beaten up. While he would talk about the violence to his friends, no one believed him.


Fed up of the violence and desperate to gather evidence, Purushottam, who claims to have worked with Subhash Ghai as an assistant director, installed a spy camera in his place.


The camera captured everything that went on in the house, including Purushottam's physical torture, for three months. What eventually went up on YouTube was an edited 30-minute video. The video that has no sound, shows Pallavi slapping and kicking Purushottam. It later shows them animatedly discussing something even as a child looks on.


On July 23, 2008, Pallavi left the couple's Aarey Colony house with Aum. Since the marriage had irrevocably broken, Purushottam filed for divorce and Aum's custody on July 27.


On August 29, Pallavi lodged a complaint of dowry harassment and torture against him at Dindoshi police station. However, Purushottam's spy video recordings and other evidence he presented in the court tilted the divorce and custody case in his favour.


During the two-year battle, Purushottam says he went through a lot. "I lost a job in a multi-national bank because cops would be constantly calling me. But I had decided, I would fight till the end as I loved Aum more than anything else. When I saw my lawyer was not arguing the case properly, I read law books and argued my case without a lawyer."


Purushottam meticulously collected evidence to make his case stronger. He showed the court how his child had suffered severe weight loss after his mother took him away. "I presented medical evidence that also showed that he had injuries on his hands and legs and that he lived in unhygienic conditions.


After he was separated from me, he wasn't sent to school for months," said Purushottam, who alleged in the court that he was not allowed to meet Aum on one pretext or the other even though the court had directed a meeting every fortnight. His wife's lawyer, Amol Sutrale, who played a crucial role in bringing the couple to the negotiating table, said, "We realised there was no need to drag the case unnecessarily.


I advised Pallavi and Purushottam to settle the matter. Pallavi agreed to give Aum's custody to Purushottam. Thus the matter was settled with mutual consent. At least, the child will not have to suffer anymore


He was one of the member of the our NGO who had won battle.


Source:
https://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/15/2010080720100807021302130878e2d1b/Abused-hubby-gets-divorce-Son%E2%80%99s-Custody.html?pageno=1
 



Learning

 7 Replies


(Guest)

This is a good news indeed.

Tourture Cases like this, where husband gets beated by wife and which were unheard off till 20 -30 years back, are becomming commonplace.

Still husnband  have little recourse - even if they  are tourtured, including yours truly, we are always terrorised by threat of use of 498a.

While collecting evidence by cameras, voices recording  can be one smart way, as this gentleman did,  men approach abuse cases in hope of making things better and obviously capturing proceedings on spy cameras is not one of them. By the time men looses hope, and realise that this marriage is irretrievable, majority of the crucial evidences are lost.

What is the way out?

I think if India need a society where men and women are viewed equal - section 498a has to done away  or modified in such a way that its abuse stops.  Child custody for five years and older kids should be based totally on the best interest of child rather than mother getting favorable treatment. - Afterall this seems to be latest way to settle score.

In my experience I have seen more and more fathers  doing larger part of child rearing, I know many kids of age 3-4 who will spend all their time with father, if given a choice.

How you guys think, what  is the way out?

Dalip Kumar Chhabra (Advocate)     01 October 2010

Dear the opening lines spoken by news readers- if listen carefully , make it abondon that it was a statgic /planned sting operation-may be husband was  tutored to bear it silently so as to create evidence- such type of situation is taken very seriously by a High court - and it is held that since it was recorded without knowledge of the wife - it constitutes cruelty qua wife. 

Will be posting the citation soon. 

See this case in the scanario the High court noticed it.

 

Thanks 

Dalip Kr. Chhabra, Advocate, Delhi

9811131089

           

1 Like

aflatoon dash (health)     01 October 2010

Mr chhabra

  1. what do you mean by husband was tutored to bear it silently so as to create evidence-Such type of evidence is taken seriously by court.
  2. -------It constitutes cruelty against wife.What do you mean that outwitting your wife and reflecting her own behaviour like a miror by gathering evidence iof uncivilized act is cruelity.
  3. Please brush up your knowledge regarding what is cruelity/abuse and how a victim can expose the perpetrator?
  4. By the way do you think that woman cant be abusers and they are only at the receiving end.
  5. If you cite such judgement then it further strenghthens my view that Some learned lawyers are as incompetent and unsure as you.

Aflatoon

Jamai Of Law (propra)     02 October 2010

If you watch that video published on the net, Mr Chhbra is correct in general.

 

But that does not give any concession to that wife for her misconduct.

 

Just to expose her to the fullest extent possible, he did play as if cowed down against his wife but that brought out real 'monster' in her. 

 

Had she apologised to it the moment it was adduced by the other party or honestly agreed upon as if one-of incident and then 'pleading guilty' does get lenience.

 

Husband used it more like an ambush technique for a 'kill' not even giving opportunity to wife to say sorry for her misdeeds. So he also had covert agenda.

 

But her act was somehing that cud have been corrected by councelling, if she had shown remorse to her behaviour and approached court candidly.

 

It was indeed a major error on the part of the wife, but not a fatal, dangerous, extreme kind of error.

 

Am I right Mr. Chhabra?

Dalip Kumar Chhabra (Advocate)     03 October 2010

Look Mr. Aflatoon,

Definitely - if genuine- it is worst cruelty- I never spoke about non-recognition of evidence by courts in true situations.  But is equally true and correct that if  created to create evidence - taking it seriously - High court rightly held it to be cruelty qua wife- for - having recorded such thing without her knowledge and consent. 

Don't  foregt  It is  only people like you - who are not interested to see other side of the coin- your language itself support my above view based on High court's verdict.-you will get it soon- don't be so anxcious.

Try to respect others so as to get it free.

Thanks,

Dalip Chhabra, Advocate

aflatoon dash (health)     03 October 2010

your mindset in your post quote        "if listen carefully , make it abondon that it was a statgic /planned sting operation-may be husband was  tutored to bear it silently so as to create evidence- such type of situation is taken very seriously by a High court - and it is held that since it was recorded without knowledge of the wife - it constitutes cruelty qua wife. 

Will be posting the citation soon. 

See this case in the scanario the High court noticed it."

Revealed a very timid and constricted vision .Now you have come out with "Definitely - if genuine- it is worst cruelty".

There was no balance Mr chabra and there were some learned judges who not only gave divorce but also custody to the person in question.They are people who dont take bits and pieces Mr chabra .They consider the whole.Planted evidence is screened out easily I know it freind and kowlegeable person also know it.

Aflatoon

Dalip Kumar Chhabra (Advocate)     10 October 2010

For all concerned using self styled language...

Here is the judgment passed by Kerla High court - in OP no. 35530 of 200 decided on 20.3.2003 , titled Sujeetha Thomson  Versus MP Devassy .. reported as II ( 2003 ) D.M.C. 465..

while interpretting section 10 of Divorce Act, 1869 , Hon'ble Mr. Justice R.Rajendra Babu .. while considering the recorded conversation between husband and wife petitioner - recorded without knowledge of wife- held  that  above conduct of respondent itself was insult to petitioner, which would amount to mental cruelty and wife was granted divorce on the ground of cruelty.


Leave a reply

Your are not logged in . Please login to post replies

Click here to Login / Register