Chennai: A 34-year-old man, working in China, who flew down to India nearly 19 times spending Rs 40,000 on airfare every time to attend family court proceedings for divorce, as his wife was dragging the matter since 2012, got a reprieve with the Madras high court directing the family court to dispose of the case within three months.
When the petition filed by G. Vijayan of Annanoor, Chennai, came up for hearing before Justice R. Mala, the judge said it is a fit case for giving direction to the presiding officer, I additional family court, Chennai, to dispose of the case, after giving fair opportunity to both sides, within three months.
Counsel for the petitioner R.Y. George William submitted that the wedding of Vijayan with P. Rathi, 32, a lecturer in an engineering college, was solemnised at Vadapalani Andavar thirukovil, Vadapalani, on August 30, 2009. Even though they lived together only for two months, he lived peacefully only for a few days.
Rathi, who was against marrying anybody, had bowed to pressure from her parents and married Vijayan. Since then, she had been abusing him repeatedly without reason and in a fit of rage even threw out the thaali twice. Unable to bear the torture and mental agony, he filed a divorce petition before presiding officer, I additional family court, Chennai, in 2010.
Vijayan, working in China since August 2012, came all the way from China on 19 occasions to attend the proceedings. However, Rathi failed to appear in the court in spite of several order notices.
When the family court was about to pass ex parte order, she filed a set aside petition on July 13, 2013 only to prolong the matter. However, she did not attend the proceedings.
Similarly, she filed a set aside petition on April 21, 2014 for the second time.
Vijayan prayed to the court to direct the presiding officer to expedite the trial and dispose of the divorce petition on a day-to-day basis.
