Village court allows stepson,woman to live as ‘man and wife’

Bhatuali Gram Kachahari under Navanagar block of Buxar last week allowed Poonam Paswan to continue to live with her stepson Vikas Paswan (24) as “man and wife”. The 13-member Bhatauli Gram Kachahari unanimously ruled in favour of Poonam and Vikas after hearing all three parties,including Poonam’s husband,Jawahar,who is a forest guard at Nawanagar. Gram Kachahari is a judicial body with powers of a civil court at panchayat level under Bihar Panchayati Raj Act,2006.

Poonam told the gram kachahari that she would “prefer to be killed or commit suicide than be separated from Vikas”. She claimed that she had a three-year-old daughter and a two-year-old son from Vikas,not her husband. Vikas,a matriculate,works for a private company at Jamshedpur and comes to village during weekends.

Jawahar,who married Poonam after the death of his first wife eight years ago,said: “I am helpless. I learnt about my wife’s relationship with my son from first marriage two years ago,but kept quiet apprehending ignominy. Poonam and Vikas may well live together but they will not get a penny from my property.”

Jawhar has an Indira Awas Yojna house and a small plot of three decimal land (1306.08 sq ft) in the village. He earns daily wages from his job.

Jawahar said there was no point going to the police or court as he could not afford it. “I am afraid that it will be of no help. I will have to live the rest of my life with a sense of betrayal and insult,” he said.

Ghatauli Sarpanch Malti Devi told The Indian Express: “Though the gram kachahari was critical of the illicit relationship of Poonam with her stepson,we had to come up with a practical solution to put an end to her day-to-day tiff with Jawahar. We could not have asked Poonam to separate from Vikas as it would have meant Poonam or Vikas or both taking an extreme action.” Devi said the gram kachahari got an agreement signed by all the three parties. She,however,made it clear that the gram kachahari had not allowed Poonam to marry Vikas as it would have socio-legal implications. “We have found an amicable solution under the given situation and can’t do anything about interpretation of our order,” said the sarpanch.

Buxar district welfare officer Sunil Kumar Karn said he was not aware of any such order. Nawanagar police station said it was not a police matter.

Patna High Court lawyer Tuhin Shankar said: “The aggrieved person can go to a family court to seek a redressal as the Hindu Marriage Act under Section 3(G) clearly prohibits marital relationship between a woman and her stepson.”