Srinagar: In a scathing judgment, the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh dismissed a writ petition filed by Prof Abdul Gani Bhat against maintenance proceedings and imposed an exemplary cost of Rs 1 lakh, citing 'utterly misconceived' allegations and a 'depraved mindset' towards women.
Prof Abdul Gani Bhat (81), claiming to represent his son, sought to quash maintenance proceedings initiated by his daughter-in-law under Section 488 of the Jammu and Kashmir Code of Criminal Procedure.
The petitioner alleged that his son had divorced the respondent and thus the maintenance petition was not maintainable. Additionally, he accused the 4th Additional Sessions Judge, Gowhar Majeed Dalal, of bias and misconduct in handling the proceedings, stating, 'Respondent No. 2 (daughter-in-law) was found to be not young and virgin, but was found to be an aged, barren (not fit to conceive), having already enjoyed marital or extramarital or premarital sex, profusely.
She came out to be a divorcee or a deserter, or thrown out from her marital home/s. She came out to be a psychic, arguing, fighting, disobedient, recalcitrant, morbid woman, suffering from venereal diseases, adept in woman makhar, witchcraft, seduction and having stealing habits. She came out to be a honey trapper, a marriage professional.'
However, Justice Sanjeev Kumar, presiding over the case (WP(C) No. 1248/2024), condemned the petitioner's language as 'demeaning' and 'unacceptable in any civilized society,' urging for psychiatric intervention to curb his 'unchecked indulgence in abusing the process of law.'
"The allegations made only exhibit the depraved mindset the petitioner has towards women, particularly his daughter-in-law. He claims that his son has divorced respondent No. 2 and, therefore, the maintenance petition is not maintainable," Justice Kumar remarked.
The judgment emphasized that the petitioner, labeled a 'habitual litigant,' had exhibited a lack of trust in the judicial system and had become a 'cancer for the judiciary' with his relentless harassment of judges. The court ordered the petitioner to deposit the exemplary costs (Rs 1 Lakh) in the Litigants’ Welfare Fund within four weeks, warning of further consequences if the directive is not followed.
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