Madras High Court Judge Apologizes to Women Litigants for Lawyer’s Insensitive Questions
In a rare and significant move, Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy of the Madras High Court apologized to four women litigants after a lawyer posed humiliating questions to them during a cross-examination in a property dispute case.
Delivering his judgment on Thursday, Justice Chakravarthy emphasized that the legal system must show more empathy towards litigants who seek justice through the courts.
Case Background
The case involved a property partition dispute. A woman and her three daughters had filed a lawsuit against the decision of their father, who had transferred all his property 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 cross-examination in a lower court, the father’s lawyer made derogatory claims about the character of the mother and questioned the paternity of her daughters, implying they were born to another man.
A lower court had earlier ruled to prevent the son and the second wife from claiming ownership of the disputed property. Challenging this ruling, they approached the Madras High Court.
Court’s Response
While delivering the verdict, Justice Chakravarthy took the unusual step of highlighting the lawyer’s misogynistic remarks during the trial. He pointed out that such instances of character assassination are often omitted from judgments but felt compelled to address the issue to prevent such practices in future trials.
“This kind of insensitivity and character assassination is usually masked for public consumption in judgments. However, I am constrained to highlight it because such cross-examinations, without any valid basis, should never be resorted to. A member of the legal fraternity committed this act, and it happened under the supervision of the court. Therefore, the court extends its apologies to the plaintiffs,” Justice Chakravarthy stated.
He further clarified that cross-examinations should not be used to humiliate litigants or leave lasting emotional scars.
“On behalf of society, this court conveys its apologies to the daughters. They should be assured that they have equal rights as sons in all legal matters, as per the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005,” the judge affirmed.
Final Judgment
The High Court ruled that the wife and daughters would be entitled to 19/25th of the ancestral property, while the son from the second marriage would receive 6/25th of the property.
Legal Representation:
- Advocate N Manokaran appeared for the appellants.
- Advocates V Raghavachari and KS Karthik Raja represented the respondents.
This ruling reinforces the legal rights of women in inheritance disputes and highlights the need for sensitivity in courtroom proceedings.
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