In a rare order passed by an Indian court, the Madras HC on Thursday came took a novel route to protect the life and property of a disabled man who is allegedly facing threats from his own family, reports A Subramani of Times of India.
Justice PN Prakash of the HC has ruled that the court will become a ‘parent’ to the rich, parentless hearing and speech-impaired man who was allegedly abducted by his former wife, who married him again without his consent. On the day of his marriage, property worth Rs. 1.6 crore, which belonged to him, was sold.
Justice Prakash followed the doctrine of 'loco parentis' in this case due to the threat involved to the life of the person, Manoj Rajan.
The Latin term loco parentis means ‘in the place of a parent’. It is a legal option available to a person or an organization to take on some functions of a parent.
Manoj was born in 1979 with congenital speech and hearing impairment, and mental disabilities. His mother died when he was 14. He was sent to a special school and later married off to a girl, Priya Darshini. She later divorced him. But she tried to take custody of him after his father died in 2013, according to Times of India.
When she was unable to get his custody, she kidnapped Manoj and ‘married’ him before a pastor in Chennai. On the same day, his property worth Rs 1.6 crore was sold.
Justice Prakash spoke about failures at every level. First, the Gudalur police did not register an abduction case, but just gave an acknowledgement. A pastor ‘solemnized’ the second wedding without following any rules, and thirdly a sub-registrar allowed the sale of property.
The judge has transferred the case to CB-CID in Chennai. The court said that the all the properties will be kept safely, including the one sold. He has been shifted to a home near Madurai. The Madurai police has been asked to give security to him.