Bihar: Village court allows woman to leave husband, pursue career

PATNA: A gram kutchery (village court) in Bhagalpur district recently allowed the separation of a newlywed woman with her husband after she wished to pursue a career and fulfil her dreams.
Neha Kumari (19) had submitted a petition to the village court under Gangania panchayat in Bhagalpur district on July 26, seeking separation from her husband Sunil Kumar, with whom she had tied nuptial knot one-and a-half-months back.

In her petition, Neha said she wanted to pursue a career after getting married, but her husband and in-laws were opposed to it. As her proposal was turned down, she fled the house of her in-laws and reached Patna.
In the meantime, her father Gurudev Pandit, a resident of Jehangira village, lodged a complaint with the Sultanganj police station, apprehending Neha’s abduction.
Neha, an Intermediate passout, somehow came to know about the police complaint and sought intervention of sarpanch Damodar Choudhary.
On July 28, both the families were summoned to a meeting held at Fatehpur village.
Neha and her husband also appeared at the meeting convened by the village court.
Neha told the members of gram kutchery that she wanted to complete her ITI training first to get a job and then pursue higher studies. “I was married under pressure. Now I want to get rid of it for the sake of my career,” she told the village court.
Sarpanch Choudhary said, “Initially we tried to convince both the families, but in vain. Finally, we decided to go for separation between Neha and her husband. After all, the woman is an adult and free to choose her way of life.”
An agreement was signed and the two families agreed not to put pressure on Neha in future or blame her for separation.
Earlier, the woman’s father told the village court that the marriage was solemnised as per Hindu rituals. Neha got married to Sunil, a resident of Ghorghat village under Gangania panchayat, in June this year.
Neha, on her part, thanked the members of the gram kutchery for “saving her life”.
SHO of Sultanganj police station Lal Bahadur said the move of the gram kutchery was commendable. “Disposal of complaints, which are not of serious nature, by gram kutchery will lessen burden on the police and judiciary,” he added.