88-year-old in court with remarriage plea

TT, July 31: An 88-year-old widower today moved the high court seeking an order for police and his children to allow him to marry a second time.

Justice Joymalya Bagchi, who heard the plea, refused to interfere in the matter but said the petitioner, a lawyer by profession, should count himself lucky that his children had not sent him to an asylum.

The judge also observed that the police's counsel to the petitioner against remarrying was "good advice".

Justice Bagchi gave liberty to the petitioner, a resident of Balagarh in Hooghly district, to file criminal cases against his children for preventing him to marry again. "This court should not interfere in the matter. If the petitioner desires, he may file a case before a criminal court," the judge said.

Moving the petition on behalf of the elderly man, lawyer Biswajit Sarkar submitted before Justice Bagchi: "My client lost his wife two years ago. He has three sons and three daughters. But he has been suffering from loneliness since his wife's demise."

The man decided to remarry to tide over his loneliness and published a matrimonial advertisement in a daily. "He received good response," the lawyer said.

His sons and daughters, however, were opposed to his plan to remarry. "As their father stuck to his decision, they tortured him physically and mentally," the lawyer submitted.

The judge asked: "How old is he?"

"Eighty-eight, my lord," the lawyer replied.

"What are you saying? He is fortunate that his sons have not sent him to a mental asylum," Justice Bagchi said.

"What does he want from this court?"

Advocate Sarkar said: "My client has lodged complaints against his sons and daughters with Balagarh police station and sought police assistance so that he could remarry. But the police have not helped my client in any way. Instead, they asked him not to remarry."

"I consider it good advice," the judge said. "I think the petitioner wants to threaten his sons and daughters that he would deprive them of his properties."

Justice Bagchi then asked whether the petitioner had mentioned in the advertisement women of which age group should approach him.

The 88-year-old had mentioned that women above 60 should approach him.

"It is a fact that he has the liberty to marry a woman of any age. But I am not ready to interfere in the matter. If the petitioner has any problem with his sons and daughters, he may file criminal cases against them," the judge said before disposing of the matter.