AFTER nearly 10 years, an army officer and his parents have been acquitted by a Mumbai court in a dowry harassment and domestic violence case. The officer told mid-day.com that there is no law to protect men and that they are always punished in such cases. He also claimed he had paid almost Rs 37 lakh to his wife as compensation over the past decade.
The officer, who was residing at Mumbai`s Colaba area with his wife and parents, married in 2013 and was later posted to Jammu and Kashmir. Just two years into the marriage, in 2015, his wife registered a first information report (FIR) against him and his parents at Colaba Police Station, alleging harassment, assault, and lack of financial support. She also claimed that he “always kept non-veg food in front of her.” On Monday, the Esplanade Court (Killa Court) acquitted them.
In her allegations, the woman said her husband never helped her financially or emotionally, even when she was hospitalised in 2013 with a fractured ankle.
Speaking to mid-day.com, the officer said, “I married in 2013, and we have a 12-year-old daughter. But men always suffer. For 10 years, I was mentally tortured because of this case. I received no support from anyone. I was posted in Jammu and Kashmir and was also part of Operation Sindoor.”
“My wife filed a false case against me and my parents, claiming that I assaulted her and demanded money. She alleged her father made a fixed deposit of Rs 15 lakh for the purchase of a property. I never took a single rupee from it. In fact, she attacked me several times, even bit me. I submitted all this evidence to the court through my advocate, Sunil Pandey,” he added.
“She even complained that I placed non-vegetarian food in front of her. But that never happened. All the allegations were false,” he said.
Advocate Sunil Pandey told the court, “My client was falsely implicated. This was a misuse of law and machinery. For 10 years, the applicants suffered. His parents, both senior citizens, battled multiple ailments. Meanwhile, the complainant and her father never appeared in either the Mumbai 498A case or the divorce case in Delhi, where the court ultimately granted divorce.”
He added, “The woman claimed nearly R37 lakh as maintenance from the Army Court on vague grounds. Medical evidence showed she had bitten my client on his chest. She was aware of these facts, which is why she avoided court proceedings.”
Pandey also said he had filed more than 25 closure applications, but the court insisted there was no provision to close the matter. “My client is serving the nation at the border, yet there is no legal protection for army personnel in such cases. Finally, justice has been served,” he added.
