An IAS officer, Dr. Konsam Shyamsunder Singh in Manipur, Imphal who got married in 2009 and has 3 children with his wife. Her wife, Dr. Ranjita Achom, a 41-year-old assistant professor at Imphal’s Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS). Dr. Ranjita came to know about the extra-marital affair and went to court.
She filed a case in a Manipur court against her husband and his 33-year-old live-in partner, Ms.Yambem Puni. She sought ₹10 crores in damages for “loss of consortium and mental agony” caused by their “illicit” relationship.
The case was heard on Septemeber 13th. Dr. Singh confessed to his “illicit” relationship with Ms. Yambem Puni. Ms. Puni in the court sought the status of his “second wife” as they had completed a “Loukhatpa ceremony” (locally recognized marriage/acceptance ceremony) in 2016.
Under the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955, Judge Y. Somorjit Singh said that Ms. Puni cannot be considered as “the second wife.” Mr. Singh said:
“Live-in relationship with a married person amounts to intentionally alienating one spouse from the other – it is an important tort – wife, and children of the married party can sue the other party to relationship for damages.”
On October 18th, Under tort law, Judge ordered the compensation in three parts ₹10 lakh for “causing mental distress”; another ₹10 lakh for “lowering the reputation of the legal wife in the eyes of the society”, and ₹50 lakh for “punitive or exemplary damages.”
