NRI
woman asked to pay $ 65,000 for bullying daughter-in-law
London,
July 26, 2005
PTI
In a landmark judgement, a British court has ordered
a Non Resident Indian woman to pay $ 65,000, as compensation
to her daughter-in-law for subjecting her to bullying
and humiliation.
26-year-old Gina Satvir Singh told the Nottingham
County Court that she was bullied, isolated and became
seriously ill after entering into an arranged Sikh
marriage.
She sued her former mother-in-law, Dalbir Kaur Bhakar,
who imposed a 17-hour daily regime of housework, forced
her to bleach her skin and cut her hair and severely
restricted contact with her family.
Singh was forbidden to leave the house alone and
was not allowed to listen to the radio, read newspapers
or watch television. Her isolation was such that when
she fled the marital home in March 2003, Singh knew
nothing about the imminent invasion of Iraq.
Singh sued her former mother-in-law under Britain's
Protection of Harassment Act, claiming she suffered
months of abuse following her wedding to Hardeep Bhakar
in November 2002.
Passing the judgment on Monday at the Court, in east
central England, Timothy Scott, QC, the Recorder,
said: "The course of conduct towards Gina was
not merely negligent, or even reckless, but deliberate.
She was utterly miserable and wretched during those
four months, and was suffering from what was for her
an incomprehensible personal attack."
The Court heard how Singh's life fell apart four
years ago after her arranged marriage to Bhakar, now
29.
