Husband declares his wife ‘mad’ for filing harassment complaint!

Bengaluru: In a shocking example of the way women are treated in our society, a 27-year-old mother of two was allegedly branded mentally unstable by her own family, for filing a domestic violence and dowry harassment complaint against her husband. Shalini (name changed for privacy) was made to spend five days in a psychiatric ward at a prominent facility in the city on the behest of her parents and husband, who claimed that she was prone to angry outbursts. The case was brought to light by prominent advocate Pramila Nesargi, who has intervened on Shalini's behalf.

Shalini, 27, who has a young daughter and a son was reportedly frequently beaten by her husband. According to her advocate, Basavaraj Patel GK, the father had promised the husband a piece of land. "Because that hadn't happened, he would come home every night and abuse her mentally and physically," said Basavaraj.

On June 28, unable to deal with this any longer, Shalini took her two small children and checked into Shakti Dhama in Mysore, an organisation that works with women in distress. She remained there for a week, until July 5, when her husband and father allegedly came to take her back on the promise that all the torture would come to an end.

When her husband continued to ill treat her, she approached Basavaraju, who helped her file a case in an MMTC Court in Bangalore rural on July 17, 2014. One week later, she filed for divorce at a family court in the city, on grounds of cruelty. As the abuse continued unabated, Shalini filed a complaint at the Kumbalgod police station on August 10. "The FIR was lodged and police visited her house for an enquiry," said Basavaraj.  

"The husband conspired with his in-laws, which Nandini has mentioned in the FIR," said Pramila Nesargi. "He managed to convince his in-laws that she had a psychiatric disorder." Shalini, in the end, was admitted to a psychiatric facility in the city last week, where she remained for a period of five days.  

"Her parents brought her to the hospital, saying she had anger issues," said the psychiatrist who treated her, on condition of anonymity. "When we counseled her, we realized that she was having marital problems, so we asked the couple to come in for joint counseling. We managed to sort out the problem amicably, they wrote apology letters to each other and she was even willing to withdraw the complaint by the time she was discharged," he said. "We explained to her that her life would be very difficult, being unemployed and uneducated, with two small children in a male-dominated society," he added.  

While the issue seems to have been wrapped up neatly, the story has not come to an end just yet for Nandini. While her advocate Basavaraj agrees that there are plans to withdraw the complaint, he also received an alarming phone call from the victim on Thursday morning. "She called me from a different number and said that her family had forbidden her from having any contact with people outside the family," he said. Shalini has stated that she fears for her safety as well as that of her children, but it seems as if her nightmare will continue, if she is forced to break contact with her advocate and the activists who are currently fighting her cause.