Couple files 67 cases against each other

The Supreme Court was appalled to find a couple from Bengaluru fighting as many as 67 cases against each other.

A software engineer holding a US citizenship has filed 58 cases against his wife. For her part, the wife, now living in Bengaluru, has filed nine cases against him.

The cases cover a variety of charges, from dowry harassment and domestic violence to contempt of court. The couple are also sparring over visiting rights and child custody.

Married in May 2002 in Bengaluru, the couple went to the US, where they had a son in 2009. Subsequently, the relationship soured. The woman, an MBA, returned to her parental home with the child. The husband accused her of depriving him of his child’s love, and filed a number of cases against her.

When a case relating to the custody of the eight-year-old came up before a bench here, Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice R Banumathi expressed shock over the sheer number of cases the couple had filed.
 

“In my entire legal career, I have not seen such a high number of cases filed by a husband and wife against each other,” Justice Joseph said. He recalled he had once heard about a couple filing 36 cases against each other.

Senior counsel Meenakshi Arora, appearing for the petitioner-husband, and advocates Sanjay M Nuli, Sunil Sastry and Abhinav R, representing the wife, admitted the couple were fighting 67 cases.