Chennai: The Madras High Court presided over by Justice Lakshminarayanan ruled in favour of Sindhuja setting aside the earlier order of the Family Court. The High Court directed the family welfare court to determine appropriate compensation for Sindhuja, emphasising that under Section 18 of the Domestic Violence Act, the victim's protection must come first.
Sindhuja is entitled to compensation under Section 19, and as per the Criminal Procedure Act, any children involved must also be compensated. The court stressed that the compensation must be sufficient to support the victim's livelihood and that alimony cannot be denied simply because it was not explicitly requested in the divorce case.
Sindhuja and Saravanakumar were married in 2010, but later encountered conflicts, leading Sindhuja to file a police complaint against her husband. Saravanakumar responded, claiming he had received 75 pounds of gold jewellery, 11 silver items, Rs 5 lakhs in dowry, and an additional Rs 5 lakhs for a car from Sindhuja. The trial court dismissed Sindhuja's case to recover these items from Saravanakumar, but Sindhuja appealed, arguing that Saravanakumar had not paid the Rs 5 lakhs in alimony as promised within two weeks.