A Mother-in-law who filed a DV Case against her Daughter-in-law and her Whole Natal Family

Bobbili Santhosh and Peethala Santoshi ＠ Bhavani got married on the 7th of April 2022. It was an arranged marriage and both of them were from Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

Their wedding night was to be spent by them at Bobbili Santhosh's house, where he lives with his parents, one younger brother and one younger sister. Both of his younger siblings are unmarried.

The first night is an inseparable part of wedding celebrations in Telugu culture, and it is accorded the status of a ceremony in Andhra Pradesh, viz. "first night ceremony".

According to Santhosh's family, Peethala Santoshi created a big scene on that very first marital night instead of participating in the consummation of her marriage with her husband. She stepped out of the bedroom at midnight and started shouting that Bobbili Santhosh is not a man.

Weddings are occasions for celebrations, and the suhaag raat is supposed to be a night of love. Some couples prefer to start getting to know each other on their wedding nights instead of starting conjugal relations, but it is a pleasant night for them regardless of this fact. It is true that one comes to hear now and then about marriages which started out inauspiciously, but what happened in Bobbili Santhosh's life (on his first night, no less) is unheard of. It can justifiably be said that his marriage collapsed at inception.

Santoshi did not calm down after that night. She continued to make life difficult for Mr. Bobbili and his family. It was common for her to shout at them and simultaneously to make video films with her mobile phone, threatening them that she is creating video evidence of her mistreatment. Often she climbed out to an open landing in a staircase outside their flat and shouted to their neighbours that they were awful people. She was also in the habit of recording her own attacks on her husband and his family members.

She used to throw very long tantrums, which used to cause tension in the minds of her husband and his parents and siblings. And she was not satisfied with one tantrum per day, and used to keep on repeating her accusations and insults throughout the day and the night. Her continous aggression used to spoil the next day before the previous day had ended.

Her husband's elderly parents were too physically weak to be able to tolerate the constant tension. The started suffering from high blood pressure, kidney illness, migraine headaches, diabetes, and liver disease. Their neurological and cardiac health deteriorated. Their daughter-in-law did not take pity on their condition at any stage, and never stopped her atrocious behaviour.

On top of all this her mother and sister used to visit her in-laws and abuse them and threaten them.

Their neighbours saw these frequent scandals and advised his parents to approach the police. They heeded the advice of their neighbours and called the police a few times, but they did not file any criminal complaint against their son's wife.

Finally their patience gave way and they wrote a complaint against Peethala Santoshi. The police came to their house and warned Santoshi that they would file an application for a bind over against her in the area executive magistrate's office if she did not stop disturbing the peace. (A bind over ^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]} is an injunction binding a person to maintain the peace on pain of imprisonment or fine.) Peethala Santoshi left her matrimonial house and went back to her mother and sister the very same day. This was around one year from the date of their wedding.

Immediately after leaving her matrimonial home, Peethala Santoshi filed a criminal complaint against her husband, his elderly parents and his two innocent siblings in which she accused them of committing cruelty against her! The provisions of law which she invoked were the usual IPC sections 498a, 406 and 34, and the (also usual) sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act. She filed the case in Disha Police Station Vishakhapatnam. It is being heard by a judicial magistrate in Vishakhapatnam under the title Women's Police Station vs. Bobbili Santhosh & Others ^[7].

Bobbili Santhosh's sister obtained legal advice from this writer, and she was told to tell her brother to file a suit for divorce, and her mother to file a Domestic Violence Case.

Thereafter Santhosh also filed a suit, being a suit for divorce on the grounds of cruelty (against Peethala Santoshi) in May 2023. It is being heard by Family Court Vishakhapatnam under the title Bobbili Santhosh vs. Bobbili Peethala Santoshi ^[8].

Santhosh's mother filed a DV complaint against Peethala Santoshi, her sister Peethala Sandhya, and their mother Peethala Sarojini in August 2024. This was an excellent counter to the vexatious dowry case filed by Peethala Santoshi against her whole family. The case is being heard by a judicial magistrate in Gajuwaka, Vishakhapatnam under the title Bobbili Venkata Lakshmi vs. Bobbili (Peethala) Santoshi ＠ Bhavani & Others ^[9].

DV complaints are invariably filed by daughters-in-law in India. Bobbili Venkata Lakshmi's DV case is a reversal of that. It is a most satisfactory reversal, it might be added.

The litigation is ongoing as of the date of publication of this article.