Salem: Divorce was what they wanted, but a mediated harmony was what they finally got. For an anguished farmer couple from Vazhapadi near here, awaiting a decision on their divorce proceedings, it was a happy culmination as they were reunited at a national-level Lok Adalat at the Salem integrated court complex on Saturday.
Ms. Raja Indira, estranged wife of the farmer Kannan for the past two years, had moved the Mahila court in Salem seeking divorce from her husband as the couple was not blessed with a child.
The man and woman, awaiting divorce appeared before the Lok Adalat today, which began in the presence of the Additional District Judge, R. Sridhar, and which took up as many as 3,000 petitions for resolution through this
alternate dispute redress mechanism.
And then came the unexpected reconciliation. As Mahila court Judges, N Gunavathi and G Vijaya, counseled the couple, advised them to be
content with an adopted child and lead a happy and purposeful life, they began to look at their problems differently, decided to salvage their marriage by reuniting again.
The couple, Raja Indira and Kannan, also promised to adopt a child as per the Judges advice and then distributed sweets to people present at the Lok Adalat in a modest celebration of their reunion. The smiling couple then left for their home, an outcome for which other litigants who had thronged the Lok Adalat promptly, lawyers and members of the public appreciated the wise conciliatory efforts of the Salem Judges.
According to officials, of the 6,151 cases taken up for adjudication at the Lok Adalat on Saturday, 994 cases involving a sum of Rs 7.96 crore were amicably
settled.
