Respected Team,
At the outset, apologies for such a big email, but wanted to make sure i provide all the facts before asking for advise
I am married since 6mts now. There were 5 minor fire accidents in a span of 3 days at my house few months back (i was on an official trip , my father & brother were in office). My wife, mother and sister-in-law were at home. Details of the accident are below
1. Bed spreads and clothes in the portico were damaged
2. News paper beneath the TV stand in Hall went on fire
3. Plastic Water filter table in the Dining hall went on fire
4. One end of my wife's dhuppatta got a spark
5. Plastic rice bucket in Kitchen went on fire
We dont know how the fire occured. I cancelled my trip and came back after hearing this. Since my wife was afraid after these incidents, my in-laws took her to their home. We didnt have any hesitations in sending her as we too thought it would help her to calm down and relax. We were supposed to visit Tirupathi that weekend and hence we requested them to bring her to Tirupathi and told them that we would take her back to our home from there. After reaching their place, my in-laws called me over phone and told me that they were considering the above accidents as an attempt of murder against their daugher and urged us to do two things
1. To file a complaint with police
2. To vacate the house and shift to a new house as their daughter was afraid to come back to the house (The house that we are staying is our own house)
We filed a complaint with the police. We werent able to go to Tirupathi, as planned, during that weekend and hence decided to go our in-laws place to meet them. We informed them that police complaint has been filed and we would vacate the house after June (as my trip got extended till Jun, my brother was also supposed to travel till Jun and my parents had planned an pilgrimage from late May to early Jun). We also told them that my wife is free to stay with them or join us until we find the new house. We also informed that the plan to Tirupathi was shifted to subsequent week and again requested them to come there. They came to Tirupathi and the entire topic shifted.
My in-laws started complaining that we (especially my mother) were providing 2nd degree treatment to their daugther as the amount of vessels, jewels that they gave her is less compared what my sister-in-law brought at the time of marriage. We never asked/demanded for any dowry or anything during marriage. Infact i denied to take Rs.5000 that my father-in-law gave me for honeymooon expense. This was a shocker and surprise for us (especially me) and told them these were rubbish. I also asked them why i wasnt informed of any such acts till that date and they were silent. However there were harsh exchange of words from both sides and they took back their daughter with them.
After this, there werent any communication between us for the past 2 mts.I didnt respond to of my wife's SMS as i was totally upset with the way their parents spoke. My in-laws sent me a detailed letter, couple of weeks back, stating marriage happened on such & such date, fire accidents happened on such & such date..blah blah blah.. they also mentioned that they approached a religious guru and he advised setting up a nuclear family for me and my wife and asked us few questions:
1. If i am interested to live with their daughter anymore
2. If we would be vacating the house
We replied to the letter stating
--> We wouldn't be vacating the house as this was our own house (we did decide to vacate the house earlier but the way they talked in Tirupathi made us feel that they were approaching more for a nuclear family rather the shifting the entire family)
--> I am not interested in going nuclear
--> Responded to question 1 that i was upset with the way they spoke in Tirupathi and was not in a position to comment.
Now we have received a second letter stating that they are willing to talk though this issue. They have also mentioned heartfelt apoligies for the harsh words used against us.
However i am not willing to get united anymore. Reasons being
--> Its basic that i expect my wife to be open and honest with me. I have asked her "n" number of times if she was comfortable and never she said she wasnt. She totally hid all these (false) allegations, that my in-laws made, from me.
--> Also, there have been numerous instances where she lied or twisted her tounge ( saying one thing to me and saying it exactly opposite to another person and in a different way to another person) and we caught her red-handed
--> She even disrespected me and asked me to prove my potency (This was after reading the letter where we communicated that we wouldnt be vacating the house and wouldnt go nuclear)
--> I am not confident that she might have changed her attitude and the above things would not happen again.
--> I also have a fear/doubt that all the fire accidents that might have been done by my wife to go nuclear, though i cannot prove.
--> I also fear what if she comes back to our house, inflicts pain for herself and complain that it was done by us?
This being the situation, i would like to understand the legal implications if i apply for a divorce (I presume i need to wait for 6 more months). Can you please advise
--> What would happen if they make false allegations against me/my family & use the domestic violence act?
--> Would this result in any criminal proceedings against me/my family and can we be arrested/Jailed?
--> What kind of steps can i take to prove my innocence and that of my family?
Thanks for reading the mail. Eagerly looking forward for your advise.
regards,
Venkat
