Hi Experts,
I am a software engineer and was engaged to another software professional from my community which my parents had come across via a matrimonial site.
Before engagement , there were no issues and the guy and his family kept saying that they do have any demands. Only the marriage should be held at their home town instead of the usual practice of conducting the wedding at bride's place. After engagement however, the groom and his family started putting pressure on me and my family to give different articles in the marriage in cash and kind. The groom used to call me up and ask me to convey his displeasure on the way engagement was conducted to my father. And that the way ceremony was conducted was not as per their customs.
For the engagement , only he , his younger brother and parents had come down to our place quoting that their other relatives are reluctant to travel this far..And later we came to know that they had not informed any of their relatives about the engagement.
Along with that, he and his family put pressure on me that post wedding , I would be required to wear Saree only, cook for entire family and visitors for whatever duration i stay in my marital home and do parda (ghoonghat/veil) when they have visitors. And if I do not abide by these terms , they will keep me inside a room and tell the visiting relatives that I am not well.
The person was in talks for marriage with another girl before meeting and getting engaged to me and he had told me and my family that the previous alliance did not work because the girl's family in that case were not ready for an early marriage.
But , after we were engaged , he started telling me that his parents always wanted dowry from marriage , and he insisted on marrying without dowry and the earlier alliance also broke because of this nature of his parents.
I have a flat and the groom has a plot on which he intends to construct a house some time. He said that if I do not put his name in my flat, he would also not register my name in the property when he constructs. And he also insisted that after we get married , he would take care of all expenses and my salary would be saved , which he can use later to construct the house.
Along with that his father asked my father to give away a car in the marriage and if it is not possible to give car, give the equal amount of cash.
I called off the engagement , but cannot get over the way they behaved with me and the mental trauma I have been through in last 3 months for which I was engaged. I feel that I am cheated because they started showing their true colors after the engagement. I also do not want any other girl to suffer what I have gone through given the history if this family.
Please let me know what legal rights I have on this matter.
