• Claiming stridhan articles from the parents of a groom

My daughter was married to my relative's son who is employed in New Zealand on 26/02/2018. He came to India for marriage and was here with my daughter just for 23 days and left to Newzealand back.

1. During those 23 days he has never been in sexual relationship with my daughter.
2. He and his parents promised to take my daughter to Newzealand within 3 months after marriage.
3. From the 3 rd day of the marriage, he started demanding jewels from us through my daughter. We have already given 30 sovereigns of gold jewellery and 10 sovereigns to the groom apart from 2 lakhs cash and 4 kg Silver items.
4. He left to Newzealand on 25/03/2018 leaving my daughter with his parents.
5. He never talked to my daughter and communicating through Whatsapp only. Their parents treated my daughter as a maid and torturing with verbal abuse and all type of ill treatment.
6. Parents refused to send my daughter to Newzealand. And in July 18 we bring our daughter from the matrimonial house. After that she refused to go back to the matrimonial house and demanded the groom to take her to Newzealand through Whatsapp texts. He blocked her mobile and we parents tried to talk to him and he blocked our mobiles too. 
7. We demanded through our mutual relatives to ask the groom to come to India for sorting out the issues. He never responded and we sent him mails and asked him to come to India before 31/07/2019. for reconciliation. But he never responded directly either to my daughter or to us. 
After waiting for 18 months we served legal notice demanding divorce with charges of harrasment, dowry demand, impotency and desertion.
They responded that they are ready to prove that the groom is potent and ready for medical checkup and they are not interested in divorce.
We filed a divorce petition in October 2019. Summon served to the India address and returned with the reason Left India. After we found his Newzealand address and summon is served. He is to be present in the Honourable court on 03/02/2020 but as he didn't come, the petition is done as Ex party. Due to Covid lockdown, the case is pending now.
In between we demanded the gold, silver ornaments and dresses which my daughter left at the matrimonial house through our mutual relatives, and even lodged a written complaint to the District Collector. 
His parents agree to handover the jewels. But demanding my daughter to give in writing to

Amend the impotency reason in the divorce petition,

Not to file any criminal cases against the groom,
Not to demand any maintenance.

My daughter refused.
Kindly guide us to get back our jewels and to proceed further.
Asked 3 years ago in Family Law
Religion: Hindu

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14 Answers

File a 498A FIR also.

File a application in Indian embassy for cancellation of his visa..

Than they will come with folded hands 

Rahul Jatain
Advocate, Rohtak
5365 Answers
4 Consultations

4.8 on 5.0

File complaint under section 406 , 498 A of IPC against husband and in laws for dowry harassment 

 

2) if husband refuses to appear before poluce for investigations bailable warrant can be issued against husband 

 

3) you can apply to RPO for impounding of husband passport 

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
94523 Answers
7486 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Dear Sir/Madam,

You are suggested to file the police complaint before CAW cell so that things be materialised and the jewels be returned to you. 

Ganesh Singh
Advocate, New Delhi
6757 Answers
16 Consultations

4.5 on 5.0

- Actually , the mistakes done from your side , as you have opted for divorce of your daughter , instead to file a complaint under the provision of domestic violence Act , and FIR for dowry demand against her husband and also his family members. 

- Now, since the court has already pass its ex parte decree in favour of your daughter , then she could not prove any cruelty against him , and he is enjoying in Switzerland. 

- If ,there be an FIR against him , then court having power to cancel his visa and to impound his passport as well. 

- Further impotency is also amounts to cruelty , and on this ground FIR can be lodged against her husband. 

- District collector is not having power to force her in laws to return the jewellery , as they will the case without any trouble faced by them. 

- However, file a criminal petition against her husband and his family members . 

Mohammed Shahzad
Advocate, Delhi
13105 Answers
195 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

You can make an application to the family court where case is pending with the details of jewels and other istreedhan. You can make groom's parents as party, as they also harassed them. By the court order they will handover all the streedhan to your daughter without any condition.

Asking maintenance is your daughters rights to live.

As they demanded jewels from your daughter, you do not need to take back your criminal case.

You can sight all these points in the application and imposed the allegation again for harassment. Court will take action on this.

Do not forget to make groom's parents as party. 

Sanjeev Gupta
Advocate, Delhi
117 Answers
1 Consultation

5.0 on 5.0

Complaint with the district collector is not an effective remedy to this.

You should make a criminal complaint for the dowry demand and harassment mentioning the stridhan jewels and amount taken by him and his parents.

The local police may try to evade the issue stating that since the matter is at court, they would not be able to do anything, don't worry.

You go and sit before the district superintended of police office and seek justice and drag all his relatives to pol;ice station.

They have not tasted the music of law yet hence they are doing all these mischief repeatedly.

After the FIR is registered under section 498A, 406, 506 and other section of  IPC aling with section 3 and 4 of DP act, obtain a copy of the FIR and send a complaint against the husband to passport office stating that there is a criminal case pending against him hence as per law his passport can be confiscated.

This  type of drastic action and pressure from all the side including DV case seeking maintenance,m compensation and return of items, would certainly create lot of tension in them.

Since your daughter's life has been ruined by them, you also take proper legal action against them to fetch remedy to your daughter.

 

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
84722 Answers
2172 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Please explain Petition done Ex-Party ?

Due Covid Lockdown the case is pending Now?

What is stage of the case?

These queries are essential to answer for your case to provide proper advice. 

If the case is for contested action then you have to prove all allegations by procuring evidence against him which may go for years may 3 to 5 years.

It is advisable to you to agree for his suggestion to amend impotency reason,not to file Criminal charges against him and demand maintenance. 

If he agrees and you agree then By consent under section 13B of Hindu Marriage Act 1955 decree of divorce may be granted within six months from the date of agreeing both husband and wife for divorce by mutual consent

Ramesh Pandey
Advocate, Mumbai
2541 Answers
8 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Kindly file Judicial separation for maintenance u/s 125 CrPC. And Demand all her streedhan belongs to her matrimonial home.

Ganesh Kadam
Advocate, Pune
12910 Answers
253 Consultations

4.9 on 5.0

Dear sir,

You have two options:

1. Give in writing that you agree on these points if the groom's side return all the streedhan (enclose the list of items) and later do not act on your promises. The agreement will not have a legal validity. Such agreements are void as the defeat the object of law. Your daughter can still claim maintenance and file a criminal complaint after receiving her streedhan.  

2.Do not give in writing. Pressurize them by filing criminal case and a maintenance petition, and push for coercive actions such as arrest. Let the law take its own course. If you have sufficient evidences, you will eventually succeed in getting all the jewelry. But the entire process will take a few years. 

Hope this helps. 

Best wishes.   

Agam Sharma
Advocate, New Delhi
617 Answers
6 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

you can file a complaint against  in-laws under Section 406 498/A of IPC. Section 406 states that whoever, being in any manner entrusted with property, or with any dominion over property, dishonestly misappropriates or converts to his own use that property, or dishonestly uses or disposes of that property in violation of any direction of law prescribing the mode in which such trust is to be discharged, or of any legal contract, express or implied, which he has made touching the discharge of such trust, or willfully suffers any other person so to do, commits ‘criminal breach of trust. To file a complaint, you can consult a lawyer through this website. 

Mohammed Mujeeb
Advocate, Hyderabad
19299 Answers
32 Consultations

4.7 on 5.0

1. Your daughter should lodge FIR against groom and his family for dowry harassment, mental cruelty and criminal breach of trust because they are not returing her streedhan and other articles.

2. If you don't want to lodge FIR at this stage then you can tell them that your daughter is ready to give it in writting and after getting streedhan your daughter can still lodge FIR against them and if they show that document as assurance given to them then it will go against them that this statement was taken by putting pressure on the complainant. 

Mohit Kapoor
Advocate, Rohtak
10687 Answers
7 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

You can file 406 ipc before police for the same to get your jewellery and other articles

Prashant Nayak
Advocate, Mumbai
31807 Answers
176 Consultations

4.1 on 5.0

In the present pandemic situation, courts are yet to commence full-fledged operations. As your son-in-law has already been set ex patre, instruct your counsel to press the court for an ex parte divorce order at the earliest opportunity. Meanwhile, your daughter may file an interim application for an order for return of shreedhan jewels. 

Swaminathan Neelakantan
Advocate, Coimbatore
2773 Answers
20 Consultations

4.9 on 5.0

You should file a domestic violence case against him and his family. File a fir against them for cruelty and criminal intimidation and breach of trust.

Don't give in to their demands. File these cases immediately.

Rahul Mishra
Advocate, Lucknow
14083 Answers
65 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

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