Women’s empowerment and ego problems are spoiling society: HC judge
Woman takes alimony from ex-husband but doesn’t
let him meet their daughter. Enraged, the judge added, ‘You want his
money, but don’t want him to see the child’
Posted On Monday, February 27, 2012 at 03:51:22 AM
|
The society is being spoilt because of women’s empowerment and ego problems,” an angry judge told an advocate whose woman client accepts alimony from her former husband, but refuses him the right to visit their daughter. The division bench of Justice K L Manjunath and Justice K Govindarajulu were hearing an appeal by Binu Vineet, seeking visitation rights to see his minor daughter whom he had not seen for seven years. The 16-year-old girl lives with her mother, Shiny.
Shiny’s advocate argued against the plea, saying Vineet was not
interested in the child and had not paid child maintenance for years.
Vineet, who was present in court, said, “If there is even a single
rupee pending from my side as child maintenance, I would withdraw this
appeal.”
Justice Manjunath asked Shiny’s advocate if the girl’s father was
paying the monthly maintenance. When told he was, the judge said, “You
tried to create an impression that he was not paying for the last three
years. I am sorry to say this, but society is being spoilt because of
women’s empowerment, ego problems and small issues being blown out of
proportion. I do not know where the society is headed with such
attitude. Both the parents pamper the child to make it avoid the other
parent. The child takes money from both the parents, and will end up as a
vagabond on the streets. Even the judges are to be blamed for this.
They pass orders on just the facts, without considering humane issues.”
Justice Manjunath said that advocates had the responsibility of
trying to get the parties to reconcile. He further said that the woman
in this case was behind money. “You want his money, but don’t want him
to see the child,” the judge said.
Divorced in 2005
Vineet and Shiny were married on June 23, 1994, at St George’s
Church, Kerala. They divorced through mutual consent in March 2005.
Their only daughter is now 16 years. Vineet has been trying to get
custody and visitation rights for years. In 2008, the trial court
rejected his plea, and Vineet moved the high court last year.
In its order, the HC said, “We tried to persuade the parties to
reconcile. But the respondent says that the daughter is not willing to
meet her father.
The respondent contends that the child has apprehensions about meeting her father and fears that she would not be compatible and comfortable. We cannot appreciate her arguments on these grounds based on the child’s response.”
The court also noted that the child is now studying in Std X in a
reputed school in Bangalore and would join college shortly. “The
appellant is allowed to meet his daughter once in two weeks for three to
four hours,” the court ordered.
Vineet’s advocate, Siju Abraham Verghese of Ranjit Shankar
Associates, said, “The case for custody of the girl started in 2001,
when she was just five years old. In the past seven years, the father
did not get to meet his daughter even once despite both of them living
in the same city.
“A case was also filed when our client went to his former wife’s
house to see his daughter. The comment made by the judge was of a
serious nature, but very true. The wife’s advocate told the court that
maintenance had not been paid for the past five years. It is totally
false. There had been blatant misuse of law by women in some cases which
was looked into by the court today. Any number of problems may arise
between the husband and wife but even as advocates we have to look at
the welfare of the child and try make the parents reach a settlement as
far as the child is concerned.”
|
