At SGPGI,woman fights for husband’s custody,entitlement

On Friday,she addressed the media at the UP Press Club for the UNICEF and Media Nest Media Hour. “I don’t know when my fight will end. My children are suffering and my husband is still in coma,” she said.

She was present at the programme with her lawyer,Ranjana Dixit,for the discussion being held on the role of family courts.

On October 14,2005,life turned topsy turvy for Bitto Devi. A resident of Faizullahganj near Aliganj,she lived with her husband Ayodhya Prasad and two children.

That day,Ayodhya Prasad,who worked as a Class III employee at the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPG-IMS),met with an accident on his way to the institute.

He was admitted to the SGPGI and underwent several operations. But he went into coma.

When she went to meet her husband at the hospital,Bitto Devi was shocked to find another woman,Munni Devi,who was posing as Ayodhya Prasad’s wife. Worse,she was told that Ayodhya Prasad’s salary and service entitlements are being given to Munni Devi.

“She had managed to get her name entered into my husband’s service book as his dependent. But she could not change the names of my children and this was the only proof I had,” she said.

The imposter,she found out,was a widow who was not just drawing a widow’s pension since 1992,but was also given a job after her husband’s demise.

Bitto Devi immediately filed a case in the family court for the custody of her husband,with lawyer Ranjana Dixit supporting her.

“On November 16,2006,she got an interim order from the family court,which stated that she was Ayodhya Prasad’s wife and should receive her entitlements,” said Dixit. But the SGPGI refused to accept the order and stated that as an autonomous body,they will conduct an independent probe.

“We then went to the High Court,which said that the order of the Family Court will be considered as full and final,” said Dixit. The SGPGI asked for time to complete their inquiry and the court gave them four weeks. “When they failed to respond even the stipulated time,the court issued a contempt order,upon which they gave Ayodhya Prasad’s custody to Bitto,” said Dixit.

But the custody came with a tag. Since the issue of “bigamy” was still pending,the SGPGI stopped Ayodhya Prasad’s salary.

Dr AK Bhatt,the medical superintendent of SGPGI,said: “There is a dispute between the two wives and both are claiming entitlements. Till the case is sorted out,we have stopped Ayodhya’s salary. We are waiting for the matter to be settled legally.” The case is pending in court.