Justice, at last, for deserted Afghan woman
Give alimony, court orders Army doctor
BD Kashniyal
Pitthoragarh, October 6
Give alimony, court orders Army doctor
BD Kashniyal
Pitthoragarh, October 6
Sabra Yusufjai, alias Sabra bibi, a young girl from Afghanistan who came to India seeking justice against her desertion by an Indian Army doctor, ultimately got justice when a Delhi court ordered that the Army doctor is liable to compensate her.
On the petition filed by Sabra, the metropolitan court of Sunaina Sharma at Karkardooma, Delhi, ordered on September 11 that the marriage of the doctor with Sabra had been proved.
He would have to provide Rs 5,000 per month for her maintenance and Rs 3000 per month for rent of an alternative accommodation.
“I am very happy with the court’s judgement which proved me right, but I will continue to fight the case lodged by me at kotwali Pitthoragarh on December 7, 2008, under Section 494 and 495 of the IPC,” said Sabra over telephone from Delhi where she is doing some courses in Hindi.
Sabra, a resident of Kabul, came in contact with Indian Army doctor Chandra Shekhar Pant in 2006 when the doctor was posted there on a medical mission.
After passing her senior secondary examination, Sabra had started working as a translator at the international airport in Kabul.
"I was working as translator at the international airport where the doctor proposed to me on the pretext that he was unmarried. With the consent of my parents, we got married on December 10, 2006,” said Sabra.
She said that after their marriage, they lived in a rented apartment in Kabul before the doctor moved to India following his transfer.
Before leaving Afghanistan, Dr Pant promised to take her to India. Sabra not only produced in court her 'nikahnama' with the doctor but also the rent deal with the landlord there.
Sabra waited for the return of her husband for two years but when he neither returned nor responded to her telephone calls, she came to India looking for him.
“After reaching India, I came to know that he was already married and had two children from his first marriage,” said Sabra.
In search of him, Sabra reached Pitthoragarh in Uttarakhand where the doctor was posted in the army hospital in December 2008.
“First, I went to his residence and asked him to accept me. But when he asked me to get out, I lodged an application at the police station in Pitthoragarh as well as with the SDM, Pitthoragarh, for justice,” said Sabra.
The civil society in Pitthoragarh took the case of Sabra in their hands and helped her lodge the case.
“If the court has agreed on Sabra’s contention and accepted that she had married the doctor, then the Army should act against the doctor,” said Govind Kafaliya, a social activists who helped Sabra with her case.
The Army doctor denied his marriage before the court and contended that the photographs, marriage video and 'nikahnama' had been doctored.
The doctor also contended that, as the applicant was a foreign citizen, the court cannot initiate any trial in India without seeking the sanction of the central government according to Section 188 CrPC.
The doctor also alleged that Sabra never had a relationship with him therefore she did not fall within the definition of aggrieved person under the Act.
The court said that after careful perusal of the provisions of the Act, the court felt that there was no bar for a foreigner to approach the court for the seeking relief under the Act.
“I had faith in the Indian judiciary and that has been proved,” said Sabra who thanked the Indian judiciary, media and social activists who helped her pursue the case.
On the petition filed by Sabra, the metropolitan court of Sunaina Sharma at Karkardooma, Delhi, ordered on September 11 that the marriage of the doctor with Sabra had been proved.
He would have to provide Rs 5,000 per month for her maintenance and Rs 3000 per month for rent of an alternative accommodation.
“I am very happy with the court’s judgement which proved me right, but I will continue to fight the case lodged by me at kotwali Pitthoragarh on December 7, 2008, under Section 494 and 495 of the IPC,” said Sabra over telephone from Delhi where she is doing some courses in Hindi.
Sabra, a resident of Kabul, came in contact with Indian Army doctor Chandra Shekhar Pant in 2006 when the doctor was posted there on a medical mission.
After passing her senior secondary examination, Sabra had started working as a translator at the international airport in Kabul.
"I was working as translator at the international airport where the doctor proposed to me on the pretext that he was unmarried. With the consent of my parents, we got married on December 10, 2006,” said Sabra.
She said that after their marriage, they lived in a rented apartment in Kabul before the doctor moved to India following his transfer.
Before leaving Afghanistan, Dr Pant promised to take her to India. Sabra not only produced in court her 'nikahnama' with the doctor but also the rent deal with the landlord there.
Sabra waited for the return of her husband for two years but when he neither returned nor responded to her telephone calls, she came to India looking for him.
“After reaching India, I came to know that he was already married and had two children from his first marriage,” said Sabra.
In search of him, Sabra reached Pitthoragarh in Uttarakhand where the doctor was posted in the army hospital in December 2008.
“First, I went to his residence and asked him to accept me. But when he asked me to get out, I lodged an application at the police station in Pitthoragarh as well as with the SDM, Pitthoragarh, for justice,” said Sabra.
The civil society in Pitthoragarh took the case of Sabra in their hands and helped her lodge the case.
“If the court has agreed on Sabra’s contention and accepted that she had married the doctor, then the Army should act against the doctor,” said Govind Kafaliya, a social activists who helped Sabra with her case.
The Army doctor denied his marriage before the court and contended that the photographs, marriage video and 'nikahnama' had been doctored.
The doctor also contended that, as the applicant was a foreign citizen, the court cannot initiate any trial in India without seeking the sanction of the central government according to Section 188 CrPC.
The doctor also alleged that Sabra never had a relationship with him therefore she did not fall within the definition of aggrieved person under the Act.
The court said that after careful perusal of the provisions of the Act, the court felt that there was no bar for a foreigner to approach the court for the seeking relief under the Act.
“I had faith in the Indian judiciary and that has been proved,” said Sabra who thanked the Indian judiciary, media and social activists who helped her pursue the case.
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