There was a fiery rebellion leader. He had the leanings towards downtrodden and compassion for poor and a socialist belief untainted by political machinery.  He stood for what was right without bothered by fate. He survived martial law and dictatorship and ascended to throne but never closed his doors except may be for his wife after a decade of marriage. Come old age and Parkinson disease was  first to show the fragility of human body. As if it was not enough, Alzheimer followed. The dementia wiped out the writing on the sand called life. He transcended beyond all battles except the clinging breath. Soon the ordeal would be over.

Family laws are complex matters. It is more so when a suit is involves an issue not hitherto before raised. The situation is further complicated by the fact that parties do not dare to speak the whole truth. A little before our leader suffered from Alzheimer, it was discovered that some of his hitherto obscured ancestral property had become valuable.

Pic courtesy Wikipedia

As narrated in the above story, the estranged wife came back, after several decades along-with a mature son, to lay a claim upon her husband who forgot to divorce her and was ever since in a live in relationship which the whole world knew. Custody battle goes on but I have a question. Live in relationship has been recognized by Indian Courts and relief of shelter and maintenance has been granted. Presently custody has been granted to the wife.

Now the case in question would have been a test case to balance the law and equity but there is no pleading about the live in relationship of several decades. The question is: Was it an omission or was it deliberate it to protect the reputation of a person who never cared for reputation or some such similar reason.

As mentioned earlier it is all writing on the sand now for him, whose interest everyone is protecting.

© Sandeep Bhalla