Anupama Roy’s Story

Dec 01, 2018

Anupama's was a classic case of domestic violence. Her nightmare began almost immediately after marriage. Her husband was opposed to her pursuing a career and put a stop to it. What began as verbal abuse swiftly escalated into physical torture. By now the couple had two daughters and the father did not spare the children either. He entered into a relationship with the household help and stopped providing his wife with any money to run the home. Anupama registered a complaint with the local police but to no avail. Anupama decided to somehow endure the horrible conditions of her life until her children were settled.

Anupama availed of Swayam's legal advice and decided to file a divorce suit in Family Court where she would be able to fight her own case. Anupama played an active role in her legal affairs. She worked with Swayam's legal consultant to strategise and prepare for the court date. She successfully negated her husband's appeal for a lawyer and secured favourable orders of injunction and attachment of her husband's salary from the judge, who took special interest in her case as she was fighting on her own.

Going by the wishes of her younger daughter, Anupama didn't divorce her husband, but filed an appeal to the judge to grant her lump sum alimony through the bank where her husband worked in a managerial capacity, which the Court granted her. This was a big victory for Anupama and today she inspires a lot of women to find the courage to fight their legal cases on their own. She has also instilled faith in the hearts of the caseworkers that it is possible to win a legal battle without a lawyer representing the case. Anupama now is an active and informed participant in Swayam's legal information awareness campaigns and participates regularly in Swayam's group activities.