Woman loses in ‘forced cohabitation’ case
The High Court has dismissed a case by a woman who had accused her family members of forcing her to cohabit with a man against her will.
The High Court has dismissed a case by a woman who had accused her family members of forcing her to cohabit with a man against her will.
Ms Kajal Kishor Bhundia had accused her father Kishor Naran Bhundia of conspiring with Mr Chiman Mandalia's family to forcefully take her to Webuye with the intention of detaining and forcing her to cohabit with Mr Sawan Chimanlal.
Justice John Mativo upheld an objection to the case by Mr Chimanlal and his father Mr Mandalia, who argued that the court did not have the jurisdiction to hear the case because it involved a matrimonial dispute or issues that fall under the jurisdiction of the Family Division of the High Court.
"The court handling the matrimonial case will be better suited to determine whether or not there was a valid marriage. It will weigh the veracity or otherwise of the diametrically opposed positions presented by the parties," Justice Mativo ruled.
Cruelty
He said the case revolves around whether the parties entered into a valid marriage and whether Ms Bhundia was subjected to the cited acts of cruelty.
Ms Bhundia had also accused his three brothers of continuously frustrating her by conspiring with Mr Chimanlal, Mr Mandalia and her father to get her to move in with Mr Chimanlal.
She accused Mr Chimanlal, a son of Mr Mandalia, of unlawfully forcing her to cohabit with him in total violation of her right to human dignity.
Ms Bhundia wanted the court to rule that her constitutional rights were violated, as well as her right to human dignity, freedom, security and residence.
She also sought an injunction against the accused to refrain from monitoring or looking for her.
Ms Bhundia said that sometime in 2019, Mr Mandalia and her father organised a forced union between herself and Mr Chimanlal against her will and consent.
"The respondents later on forcefully took the petitioner to Webuye where she was detained in Mr Chimanlal's house for six months against her free will," argued Ms Bhundia.
She said that while detained at Mr Chimanlal's house, she could not go to work or leave the house and this affected her emotionally and psychologically.
Ms Bhundia said she had to convince Mr Chimanlal and his father that she needed to travel to Mombasa to visit her family. They ensured that she was accompanied by Mr Chimanlal on the trip.
When she arrived in Mombasa, she explained her misfortunes to her family and told them she would not go back to Webuye.
"Out of the unending pressure from the respondents, the petitioner was forced to travel back to Webuye with the first and second respondents (Mr Chimanlal and his father)," court papers say.
Ms Bhundia said she was then locked up in the house and could only leave in the company of Mr Chimanlal, who monitored her movements at all times.
Hindu rituals
She says she explained her situation to her family members for the second time and informed them she urgently needed to leave Webuye and join them in Mombasa.
When Mr Chimanlal and his father learnt of her intentions to leave Webuye, they blocked her from leaving, fearing that Mr Mandalia's family’s name would be tarnished if the community learnt how they had treated her.
But in his affidavit, Mr Chimanlal denied that Ms Bhundia had been detained, saying that the union went through all the rituals under the Hindu Customary Law and Marriage Act.
Mr Chimanlal said that an engagement and a three-day wedding ceremony were held in Mombasa.
He said Ms Bhundia was fully involved in all the wedding planning meetings and they married on August 3, 2019, and that she was not forced to travel to Webuye.
He also denied that Ms Bhundia’s movements were monitored, saying that her “irrational” behaviour stressed him to the extent that he sought counselling.
