Zeenews Bureau
Bangalore: A Karnataka High Court Judge is under fire after he said that it was okay for a man to indulge in domestic violence and beat his wife as long as he was taking good care of his wife.
The shocking statement was made by Justice K Bhakthavatsala while hearing a case in which the plaintiff was seeking divorce on the grounds that she was being subjected to cruelty and abuse by her husband.
The Judge told the woman that she should just "adjust" to the situation for the sake of her marriage and future of her children.
"Women suffer in all marriages. You are married with two children, and know what it means to suffer as a woman. Yesterday, there was a techie couple who reconciled for the sake of their child. Your husband is doing good business; he will take care of you. Why are you still talking about his beatings?" Justice Bhaktavatsala was quoted as saying by The Bangalore Mirror.
Enraged at the comments made by the learned judge, a group of activists have launched an online campaign to demand his removal. Over 500 people have signed an online petition requesting the Chief Justice of India, SH Kapadia, to intervene and take action against Justice K Bhaktavatsala.
Women lawyers have also submitted a memorandum to Justice Kapadia, asking that all judges be given guidelines on how to deal with sensitive cases.
It is not the first time he has courted controversy, as per reports, recently, while hearing arguments from a woman lawyer in a divorce case, he told her that an advocate who is not married is not qualified to argue divorce cases.
Interestingly, last week at a function in Mangalore, the same Judge had expressed his displeasure over the attacks on women.
“We are all born because of women. We should respect women … but what are we doing? If we really start respecting women people will not venture to do anything against women, may be a child or college-going girl,” he was quoted as saying by The Hindu.
Justice Bhaktavatsala is also known to be radically pro-family and has managed to get many warring couples to reconcile.
First Published: Thursday, September 06, 2012, 10:49