• Unmarried sister living in father's house abused by sister-in-law

Respected Sir/Ma'm,
This is an open letter for all lawyers on your site..my life has become hell due to my brother's wife. A bit about my background..I am an unmarried female doctor who has shifted to my elderly disabled parents house after my father had a stroke. He is recovering and I shifted to take care of him as my elder brother refused to take care of him. My mother is also 70 plus and not in a condition to manage on her own. 
My brother had an arranged marriage 8 years back and since beginning she has manipulated my brother and tried to blackmail my parents for money, threatened suicide and false case of abuse against entire family. Sadly in India its a reality that many women misuse such well meaning legal measures to put pressure on elderly in laws. Unfortunately I have a selfish brother who does not help financially nor physically and supports his wife blindly. At this point I also want to add that my parents had invested lakhs in his education and had sent him to US for college before  his marriage but he left it midway  and returned. Only few years  back my father finally convinced him to work and got a job for him as he and his wife were living on my father's income for years. 
Today when my father is not well, he does not contribute one rupee to the household and I am supporting my parents financially. I also shifted to my father's house like I said and my brother's wife could not tolerate it. Even when I was living in another city for training, she used to spread stories about me hitting her child and other many absurd allegations.
Situation is so bad now that  few days back she instigated  my bother to force open the room where I was with my father - they both entered the room and my so called brother tried to hold my hands while his wife tried to hit me. Luckily the house staff and maid witnessed it and stopped them . My brother and wife told me to get married and leave the house- then they will look after Papa.
Everyday is ugly ...when I work in the kitchen, my bhabhi tries to bump into me and said she will throw the hot pressure cooker at me.She does this when maid is not around....she abuses my 70 year old mother verbally also but my mother keeps quiet as she wants peace.
Background about the house - it was built by my paternal grandfather and ground floor was willed to my father. There is also a common agreement between my father's relatives that ground floor is my father's share.Is this still ancestral property or is it my parents house now?
My parents have done a lot for me and no matter what I will always take care whether I get married or not. My mother wants to put the house on rent but my brother and his wife are not allowing her and they have also put double locks on their rooms and refuse to shift anywhere else. She is worried that if we leave the house ( as my brother  and his wife want) then they will occupy the entire house. Me and my mother don't have any other support and my father is bed ridden. Hope through this site some solution can be worked out.

Please guide us....thanks for your time and attention. Best Regards
Asked 8 years ago in Family Law
Religion: Hindu

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3 Answers

1) it is not ancestral property as it was built by your grand father

2) on his demise your father and his siblings are the legal heirs

3) your father can move court and seek orders to direct brother and his wife to vacate the portion of house in their possession .

4) also seek permanent injunction restraining son and daughter in law from disturbing their peaceful possession of the house. if father is bedridden he can execute POA in favour of your mother to file case, attend court hearings etc

5) your mother can also file DV case against son and daughter in law and seek protection order

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
94725 Answers
7535 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

The situation in your side is really a sad and pathetic.

Generally it is women who take the legal terrorism in hands to trouble the husband and the in laws to satisfy their selfish and greed motives/intentions but here your brother i.e., her hen pecked husband joins her in the cruel activities which is a curse on Indian families.

Well, since the house (Ground floor) was inherited by your father as his share through a Will or a partition, this property belongs to him and he is an absolute owner of the same.

If he want he can issue notice to your brother asking him to vacate the house and file an eviction suit if he is not complying with the demands.

Your father can even execute a settlement or gift deed in favor of anyone including you ignoring your brother, because this property now belongs absolutely to your father alone.

This cannot be termed as ancestral property.

So neither your brother nor you can legally claim a share in this property.

If it is feared that your brother may occupy the entire house if your father leaves the house, then first issue a legal notice to vacate and then initiate eviction suit for evicting him through due process of law.

Your father can file this suit through his power of attorney too, and you too can be your father's power of attorney agent to conduct and prosecute the case.

If the tortures are beyond tolerance you also can lodge a criminal complaint with the police against the violent brother and cruel sister in aw with the police. Your father also can join you in the complaint against them or he can lode a separate complaint.

Consult a local lawyer on further issues and proceed as per his prudent advice

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
84925 Answers
2196 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Since the ground floor was bequeathed to your father it is his separate property which is at par with self acquired property, Your father is thus at liberty to rent out his property to anyone he desires. He can file a suit for eviction against his son and daughter-in-law to evict them from his property, whereas your mother can file a complaint case of domestic violence in the court to seek injunction to restrain his son and his wife from committing further acts of domestic violence.

Ashish Davessar
Advocate, Jaipur
30763 Answers
972 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

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