Name: S Das
Comments: Hello,
First of all, thank you for providing a window for help.
I am a resident of Gurgaon and writing this to help chiefly my mother and my brother’s family. Am concerned about my old mother and the 5 year old child of my brother & sister-in law.
I am trying to narrate a situation below, as am unable to build up a specific complaint, from a legal standpoint, and would request you to help me out with a solution to the problem.
My mother, 65yrs +, stays in her home in Calcutta. My brother, his wife and 5 year old son, stays with my mother. With his qualifications, my brother has been able to get a call-center job with an annual income of less than 1.5 lacs and has odd working hours - mostly late night shifts.
Neither of the couple is adequately educated to earn a substantially good living standard, in the current economy. While my brother has managed to graduate, his wife has not studied beyond class VIII in some corporation school.
My sister in law, has been continuously harassing my mother and brother - by creating disharmony, screaming abuses, and several times beating up the 5yr old child to pressurize my mother for her demands. Typically, the lady keeps away from family get-togethers and social functions like marriages or other family events. For example, in recent times, I funded their entire travel to and fro Delhi for my cousin’s marriage - they came, stayed at my aunt’s place where the marriage was being held â€" but not only did she misbehave with the relatives, she did not allow my mother to come for a dinner invite to my home, and when my brother came to see our new house â€" she created further tension at the marriage.
Her recent demands - a) if my brother cannot get a 10am - 5pm job then he should leave the house, b) the house should be divided into two entries, two separate kitchens and separate living between my mother and herself.
To avoid these tensions, my brother had been doing almost all of the domestic chores - from cooking, to taking care of the child and so on.
A typical harassment example: She would call up the landline from her mobile as late as 11:30pm, just after my mother would go to sleep after taking her medicines (she is still recuperating from several ailments including a cardiac arrest). My mother got terrorised with the sudden loud ringing of phones in the middle of her sleep - and had to rush down from her first floor bedroom to ensure peace. The most traumatic conditions are when she screams out in terribly bad abusive language at everyone.
She has been constantly threatening that if my mother and brother does not comply to her demands, she will go to the police and complain that she is being ill-treated. She believes that a certain section 498 is what she can use to immediately get the police to arrest my mother and brother.
OVer the past few years, I have rushed to Calcutta from Delhi, several times to coach them but every now and again her schizophrenic behaviour repeats.
On the other hand as much as we can have my mother come and live with my family in Delhi, none of us want her to detach her from her roots and the one small house she bought/made with her hard work for all the 40 years as a public servant. Even though it is not a expensive property, she would want to die peacefully in her own house.
In anycase, neither me, nor my sister is claiming any of her property, and in future, my brother and his family will be enjoying the property themselves - the only expectation is good relationships between the 3 siblings and their respective families.
My guess is that a) lack of awareness of the law, b) avoidance of tension and c) not wanting to hurt my sister in law, is holding back my mother and brother to take any legal step.
What would you advise to resolve this problem, whereby, the schizophrenic behaviour is stopped once and for all? Please note that the intent is to treat her clinically if required or find any other solution that will keep the my mother and my brother’s family together in harmony, devoid of marital discord and daily tensions.
Thanks and regards
Supriyo Das
