Meet the lawyer
(Read full incident. This is most common meeting to a divorce lawyer and based on true incident)
Sheetal was nervous and sweating. Sheetal is going to a lawyer’s office to talk about her divorce case. Her close friend had recommended the name of the lawyer who specializes in divorce cases especially for women. It was a scorching heat outside and earnestly hoped that the lawyer’s office be air-conditioned. She enters the gate of large well constructed building where the office was situated. She nervously strode through the narrow corridor looking left and right searching for the name Adv. Pankaj Kumar. The floor tiles were a bit old-fashioned but were kept neat and clean. After a few steps, she finds the name-plate on a door having half tainted glass.
She collects herself and enters with confidence. She faces the receptionist and reveals her identity and purpose of her visit. The receptionist said, “Yes, madam, He has been waiting for you, please go right in.” She tensely knocks the door with two knuckles and opens the door. As she enters the cabin, she realizes that the interior is in conflict to the outside of the office. The cabin was well designed, with bright soothing colours of cream; lights were placed in the room appropriately; fat books on laws were orderly stacked on the well polished shelves. The chair was evenly cushioned with soft hand support on the side with a wheel on the bottom. Pankaj was seated facing the shelves on the right talking on his cordless telephone with one hand on his head. Sheetal sat cautiously and focused. He ends the conversation and puts down the phone.
He kindly greets, “Yes, Sheetal, I was just waiting for you. Your friend Kavita told me you are coming with some marriage problem.” Sheetal smilingly said, “Mr Panjak, I know Kavita since college times and so we are quite close friends even after marriage. Actually, I shared my problem with her and she then recommended your name. And that’s how I came to meet you.”
Pankaj warmly said, “Don’t worry Sheetal. You have come to the right place. Kavita and her family have been our clients for more than a decade, so….you won’t be disappointed.”
Sheetal seriously spoke, “Mr. Pankaj, I got married last year with my husband who is a mechanical engineer working in an MNC. And….for the past six months, I am feeling….uncomfortable living with his….parents.”
Pankaj enquired, “Are they harassing you Sheetal?”
Sheetal vaguely replied, “ahh….No, not exactly…..but, their presence in the house is making me lose my nerves.”
Pankaj asked, “Are they pestering you to quit your job, or are they forcing you to have a baby….or it is something else?”
Sheetal answered tensely, “No, no, they have left the family planning onto me….Its just that I am….independent kind of a person and….I dislike being questioned regularly, like where are you going, when are you coming back. Something like that.”
Pankaj thoughtfully questioned, “So…what do you want to do?” “I just want them to live somewhere else….not with me and my husband.” Sheetal replied.
Pankaj asked, “Have you spoken to your husband about your wish?” “He is strongly against my wish; he wants his parents to live with us.” Sheetal answered irritably.
Pankaj brusquely questioned, “Do you want a divorce Sheetal?”
She kept quite for the moment staring at the neat table before her. She had already decided on her plan of action but was anxious to know the outcome before she takes the leap. Office boy comes and keeps a glass of Coca Cola and water on the table. She picks up the glass of water and empties it. She felt better.
She assertively said, “Yes, I don’t want to live with him any more if he doesn’t want to respect my privacy.”
Pankaj was glad to know her confidence what she was doing. Besides, Pankaj knew that cases like these aren’t rare at all and he has handled such cases efficiently.
Pankaj gladly replied, “Okay Sheetal, if you really want a divorce then you will have to accuse your husband for something.” “Accuse him?” Sheetal frowned.
Pankaj said, “Yes, you will have to legally accuse him for something.” Sheetal enquired, “Accuse him with what?” Pankaj sternly answered, “With dowry harassment.”
Sheetal faintly smiled and said, “I think Mr. Pankaj, you have misunderstood my condition. He hasn’t harassed me for dowry. I just want his parents to live somewhere else.” “But your reason to leave him isn’t going to get you divorce” Pankaj replied.
Pankaj continued, “You see Sheetal, court procedures, policies and general judiciary is very strange to you….so you won’t really understand the implication of filing a divorce on invalid grounds. And therefore, I would like you to file a dowry harassment case on your husband and his parents.”
Sheetal was missing her friends. She felt she would have been able to take this decision in a better way if her close friends were around. She looked at the stacked books on the shelves and wondered that some of the title of the books she has never even heard before. She felt that the lawyer is saying in her best interest and can’t be suspected. After a flush of anxiety and nervousness, she began to feel better and relieved by imagining that her life will be better off after this decision.
She firmly said with a piercing look, “Okay Mr. Pankaj, I will do it.”
Pankaj kindly replied, “You don’t have to worry. You are bound to win this case.”
