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Karthik (IT Professional)     19 November 2022

Father's illegal second wife and his progeny

Apologies, it's a long story but I'll try to cut it to as short as possible. Please bear with me. For full case summary, please find the attached document.

My father used to maintain illicit relationships with several women since my childhood. About 20 years back, when I was about 11 years old, my father has married another woman. He also has a son of 18 year with his second wife now. My mother is illiterate and was helpless at that time and couldn't stop him from getting married again. All she could do with the help of our elder relatives was to make my father write an agreement on bond paper, stating that all the property except one house where he lives with his second wife and kid, belongs to us (kids) and he wouldn't involve his second wife or progeny thereof in the properties mentioned in agreement or in our lives. This agreement was made in year 2001. In return my father asked my mother to sign an agreement agreeing to his second marriage, but my mother didn't as everything happened against her will. We still lived together with our father and he maintained both the families, without causing any major disturbances to us because of his second family.

Fast forward to 2020, we moved to a newly constructed house about 300 meters from our old house. About an year back, our sister has sold her house that was gifted to her by my father a few years ago as part of her marriage. My father was against the sale of the house which resulted in a friction, so he left our new house and started living in our old house since a year. Recently we visited our old house to check few things and surprised to see our father has started a business there with this second wife's son actively involved in day to day business activities. We were irate that resulted in verbal abuses, my father argued that it's his wish and everything is his property and that we don't have any right to question him. We've lodged a police complaint in nearby station for his second marriage and the agreement made to not involve his second wife or progeny. The Police weren't really interested, but finally filed FIR reluctantly and improperly after 4 days of begging around with them, under sections of 494 and 498(a) and a case was lodged eventually. We've also filed a DVC (Section 12 of IPC) separately through a lawyer in the court.

It's been a year since we filed the above 2 cases and until now there were multiple hearings as I can check in eCourts app, with updates indicating either PO is vacant, on leave or accused is absent. To make things even worse for my mother and us, my father had moved his second wife and their son from a house that is far away from us earlier to a house that is very nearby to our house.  It's business as usual for my father. My father and mother are uneducated and our area is like a slum (basthi), being born and brought up in this area I can say people here far more interested in other people's lives instead of minding their own business relative to decent areas. My mother feels insulted to go outside in the area (I hope you understand what I mean).

Despite lodging 2 cases, the kind of dare my father had to bring his second family to nearby our house only to give more discomfort to my mother without fearing the consequences from ongoing cases and our helplessness in doing anything about it is horrible. We really want to get away from that area and let my father eventually die his own death with his second family. But definitely we don't want to leave without making him pay for his atrocities on my mother all through the years and still continuing it.

Recently I got to know from a friend who knows a good lawyer that if intention is to settle things and leave somehow then it's better to file for a divorce with alimony, as divorce shouldn't take more than 6 months for our scenario. Divorce was not suggested by the lawyers we consulted earlier before filing cases, their suggestion was to make him pay by filing cases and he would be afraid with consequences. We thought when our father comes to negotiating table, we would get some property named on us and leave the place. But quite opposite is happening as I explained earlier, my father is least bothered of consequences and still troubling my mom emotionally by moving with his second family nearby deliberately.

My question is, does divorce really get settled relatively faster than the cases filed by us? Is my mother entitled to at least 50% of the property as alimony?  This is to ensure quicker consequences for my father and also peace of mind for us once settled as we'll leave the area permanently. If that is the case then my mother is ready to go ahead with the divorce with alimony.

Note: All our properties are Notary based, not registered. We have 5 properties in total, all are self-earned by my father technically on paper (long story to explain my mother's indirect role in gaining those properties).

For full case summary, please find the attached document.



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 4 Replies

Dr. MPS RAMANI Ph.D.[Tech.] (Scientist/Engineer)     20 November 2022

Please state what exactly you want now.

Karthik (IT Professional)     20 November 2022

I think you missed to see my last paragraph. I have clearly asked my question in below paragraph. I'm pasting the question Para below. I know it's a long text but p

lease read in context if it's not clear.

"My question is, does divorce really get settled relatively faster than the cases filed by us? Is my mother entitled to at least 50% of the property as alimony?  This is to ensure quicker consequences for my father and also peace of mind for us once settled as we'll leave the area permanently. If that is the case then my mother is ready to go ahead with the divorce with alimony."
 

Dr. MPS RAMANI Ph.D.[Tech.] (Scientist/Engineer)     21 November 2022

does divorce really get settled relatively faster than the cases filed by us?
Yes, your father doesn't contest.

Is my mother entitled to at least 50% of the property as alimony? 
No. Especially if your mother applies for divorce. Alimony will be decided by the court.

If his marriage to your mother continues and if your father dies intestate before your mother, his property will be shared  among your mother, her children and children of his second wife, provided you contest.

1 Like

Karthik (IT Professional)     18 December 2022

Hi Hari Shankar,

I will call you tomorrow to discuss on this. This reply is to give you context for our call tomorrow.

Thanks,

Kalyan


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