Man held for bigamy, dowry harassment after wife’s abortion pleas rejected

The accused, Rohit Kwatra, was booked for alleged bigamy and provisions of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) (Prevention of Atrocities) Act

Mumbai: The Pune police last week arrested a 33-year-old businessman for allegedly concealing his previous marriage and subjecting his wife to dowry and caste-based harassment, days after the Bombay High Court and Supreme Court rejected her pleas to terminate her pregnancy.

The arrest comes following a legal battle in which the accused’s wife unsuccessfully sought permission from the courts to terminate her pregnancy. (Shutterstock)

The accused, Rohit Kwatra, was booked for alleged bigamy and provisions of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The arrest comes following a legal battle in which Kwatra’s wife, Bhagyashri, 33, unsuccessfully sought permission from the courts to terminate her pregnancy.

Bhagyashri, a software engineer, had claimed that she had learnt about her pregnancy after finding out about Rohit’s alleged bigamy. She approached the Bombay High Court and subsequently the Supreme Court, arguing that she did not wish to bear the child of a man who had concealed his existing marriage. However, both courts denied her relief as she was beyond the 24th week of pregnancy.

Following Rohit’s arrest, Bhagyashri said, “I do feel satisfied because, so far, I was the only one who had suffered. He had not faced any action. I have accepted the fact that this child will come into the world and I may have to raise it by myself.”

Bhagyashri subsequently left Rohit’s home following marital disputes and filed a police complaint against him on July 20, accusing him of bigamy, domestic harassment, causing hurt, criminal intimidation and violations of the SC/ST Act. Six days later, she discovered that she was 13 weeks pregnant.

Now in the seventh month of her pregnancy, Bhayashri had found herself in a courtroom at the Bombay High Court in rather unusual circumstances. In her petition, filed through advocate Narayan Mishra, she stated that she wanted to abort her child, arguing that continuing the pregnancy was likely to cause grave injury to her mental health, given the circumstances in which she had discovered her husband’s alleged deception.

However, the high court dismissed her petition last month, observing that her case did not fall into any of the categories or situations under which women were permitted to terminate their pregnancy up to the 24th week, under the MTP Rules, 2003.

The law provides exceptions for victims of rape, incest, or for women whose marital status may have changed at a later stage in the pregnancy, like divorce or widowhood. Such cases can be referred to a medical board for termination of pregnancies that are beyond the 24th week.

Bhagyashri had asserted her reproductive autonomy, arguing that the continuation of her pregnancy “is likely to cause grave injury to her mental health”. However, the judges observed that the only argument of the woman was that she had suffered mental trauma on account of the “deception”, but her contention was “in the realm of allegations” without a judicial finding.

“Although we empathise with the predicament of the petitioner (woman), unfortunately, in the facts of the present case, we see no legal relief for her under the provisions of the MTP Act, 1971,” the high court had said. Bhagyashri challenged the decision in the Supreme Court, but did not get relief since she was past the 24th week of pregnancy.

Speaking to HT on October 29, she said, “ I quit my job because, with my pregnancy and trips to various courts, I was fatigued. I can’t seek a new job when I am seven months pregnant because I may not qualify for maternity leave. I will need to birth this child and then get my life back on track, but that may take months. I will consider other legal remedies, like seeking maintenance for the child. I am still weighing all my options.”

On October 31, the Pune police filed a remand application urging the sessions court to send Rohit to judicial custody. They claimed that when Rohit was in police custody, he had admitted that his previous marriage had still not ended and that he had gotten rid of the mobile phone he used in Pune.

The sessions court remanded Rohit to 14 days of judicial custody on October 31, Mishra said. Meanwhile, Rohit has filed a bail application before the Bombay High Court, which is expected to be heard on Tuesday.

(With inputs from Nadeem Inamdar in Pune)