Harassed by a judge, wife writes to judge

Mumbai, Aug 01: The wife of a sessions court judge in Maharashtra has written to the chief justice of the Bombay High Court complaining that her husband and in-laws were "harassing" her.

After receiving the letter on July 29, Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog forwarded it to the registry of the high court for preliminary inquiry, the woman's lawyer said on Wednesday.

In the letter, the 37-year-old woman has demanded an inquiry against her husband.

She said she married the judge, presently posted at Baramati in Pune district, on May 8, 2007.

"My husband and in-laws started harassing me and my family for dowry soon after my marriage. Even after giving them Rs five lakh, furniture and bearing the wedding expenses, my husband and his family later started demanding a car and 30 acres of agricultural land," the letter stated.

After her father's death in 2008, her husband and in-laws started demanding that her father's land be transferred in the judge's name, she alleged.

When she refused, her husband and his parents assaulted her and threw her out of the house, the woman claimed in the letter.

She spent some time at her mother's house in Latur. After she moved into her husband's house, when he was posted at Akola, she was again forced to leave, the woman alleged.

On July 4, 2012, she lodged a complaint against her husband and in-laws, apprehending threat to her life.

The police, however, failed to take action and asked her to leave the husband and live with her mother, the woman alleged in the letter.

She then filed an application at a family court in Akola seeking maintenance from the husband, the letter stated.

"My husband is a serving judge and is still harassing me and my family for dowry," it added.