Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Women’s panel holds adalat

— Photo: S. Mahinsha

The way of the world: Five-month-old Karthu had to be there at the Mega Adalat organised by the Kerala State Women’s Commission here on Sunday as her mother was a litigant.

Thiruvananthapuram: Five-month-old Karthu was clearly baffled by all the attention she was grabbing. She wriggled on her grandmother’s lap and watched the cameramen who could not help snapping her toothless smile.

Waiting outside booth number eight of the Kerala State Women’s Commission (KSWC) Mega Adalat held at Vanchiyoor Government High School, here on Sunday, Karthu was blissfully unaware of the bitter war of words in which her parents were engaged at that time. Karthu was allegedly abandoned by her father and his family right from her birth.

Karthu’s mother, who alleges harassment by her husband, had moved the women’s commission seeking justice.

The case of Karthu’s parents was just one of the 213 cases that were heard at the adalat. As many as 79 cases were disposed of while 37 were referred for follow-up action and 29 were adjourned for the next adalat. Besides KSWC Chairperson D. Sreedevi and member P.K. Sainaba, a panel of eight advocates heard cases at the adalat.

“Most of the cases that were taken up today were regarding domestic violence. Dowry still remains a major cause of concern. There were also cases of property dispute leading to verbal and physical offence. Two cases were on harassment at workplace,” Ms. Sreedevi told mediapersons after the adalat.

The commission noted that cases of cheating young girls in the ‘guise of love’ were on the rise. A girl, who had come to the adalat with such a case, collapsed during the hearing after the man who allegedly promised to marry her withdrew from the alliance. The girl was rushed to the hospital.

“Such cases can be avoided only by framing strong legislations. While creating awareness among women is important, only stringent laws can make sure that the people who cheat these girls are punished,” Ms. Sreedevi said.

She said the number of cases filed at the commission had significantly increased since the last adalat, especially in Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam districts. “It could be due to the increasing legal awareness among the public that the number of cases coming up at the adalats is on the rise. We have decided to dispose of all petitions filed since 2006 at these adalats,” she said.

Ms. Sreedevi, however, added that there were also a large number of petty cases coming up before the adalat that could be easily resolved between the litigants. One such petition filed by four working women involved a dispute over a gate on the path leading to their houses.

While a majority of petitions that were not settled at the adalat were referred to the panchayat Jagratha Samithis, others were referred to courts.

Ms. Sreedevi said similar adalats would be conducted in all taluks in the district on a regular basis to ensure effective and timely disposal of petitions.

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