Kolkata, June 12: A middle-aged man marrying a much younger girl may only raise a few eyebrows. But when a 45-year-old married woman is accused of kidnapping a boy, whose father claims he is only 16 years old, it’s enough to create a sensation. And a court case.
Subhas Mondal, the father of the boy, moved a habeas corpus application before Calcutta High Court on Thursday, alleging that Chanchala Mondal of Biswanathpur village in Murshidabad has “kidnapped his minor son Arjun and married him”.
Chanchala’s lawyer Parth Pratim Roy, however, produced a marriage certificate before the court, claiming that far from being a minor, his client’s “husband” Arjun was 22 years old. At this, the division bench of Justice D P Sengupta and Justice Tapas Giri wanted to see the couple and directed the lawyer to produce the duo before them on Monday.
Subhas’ lawyer Uday Shankar Chatterjee submitted in court that Chanchala had kidnapped his client’s “minor son” on September 24, 2008. Chatterjee produced a primary school certificate that mentioned Arjun’s date of birth as July 6, 1994. Moreover, Chanchala was a married woman though she did not live with her husband Sadhin Mondal, Chatterjee pointed out.
After his son went missing, Subhas lodged several complaints of kidnapping with Lalgola police. But police did nothing, the petitioner’s lawyer said. Praying for a direction to police to trace his son, Subhas also pleaded that he be given Arjun’s custody as the boy’s natural guardian. Subhas also pleaded that Arjun’s marriage with Chanchala be declared void.
Chanchala’s lawyer, however, submitted a marriage certificate to prove that the couple were leading a conjugal life in their village. The lawyer also contested the petitioner’s claim that Arjun was a minor.
Appearing for police, advocate Abha Roy submitted a report in court stating that Arjun had gone to Chennai to work as a mason. She, however, rejected the petitioner’s claim that Arjun was much younger than Chanchala. “It hardly matters if the wife is older than her husband. It is not mandatory that the wife should always have be younger than the husband,” Roy submitted.
—Agencies–