In an unusual move, Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy of the Madras High Court has apologized to four women litigants for the insensitive questions posed by a lawyer during their cross-examination in a property dispute case.
On Thursday, Justice Chakravarthy addressed the issue in his judgment, stressing the importance of empathy within the legal system. The case involved a dispute over the division of private property, where a woman and her three daughters challenged their father’s decision to leave all his assets to his son from a second marriage.
The father had remarried without divorcing his first wife, citing her inability to bear a male child. During the lower court’s cross-examination, the lawyer representing the father questioned the character of the mother and suggested that the daughters were not biologically his.
A lower court had previously restricted the father and his second wife from handling the disputed property. The father and second wife then appealed to the High Court.
Justice Chakravarthy, in his judgment, highlighted the issue of misogyny present in the trial, which is often hidden from public view. He expressed regret for the humiliation caused and emphasized that such insensitivity should not occur, especially without substantial evidence.
“The purpose of cross-examination is not to humiliate litigants or inflict lasting harm,” Justice Chakravarthy stated. He reassured the women that they have equal rights under the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, treating them as equals to sons.
The Court’s decision granted the wife and daughters 19/25th shares of the ancestral property, while the son was awarded 6/25th.
Advocate N Manokaran represented the appellants, while Advocates V Raghavachari and KS Karthik Raja represented the respondents.
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