Its trouble time for Rhea Pillai! The domestic violence case filed by Rhea accusing Leander and his father has to be reopened yet again according to the Magistrate court.
According to a report in Mumbai Mirror, A Sessions Court has ruled that the Bandra Magistrate's Court's order of allowing socialite Rhea Pillai to seek maintenance from tennis star Leander Peas was bad in law and has ordered for the entire case be heard again.
"In the present case, issue raised of maintainability goes to the root of the case and it would decide the jurisdiction of the Court to proceed further or not. In such circumstances, application filed raising objection to the maintainability cannot be decided only on the basis of evidence and arguments. However, in the present case, the request made came to be decided [by the magistrate's court] only on the basis of evidence and arguments, without giving opportunity to parties to lead evidence," Additional Sessions Judge R B Deshpande observed.
Rhea had filed a case of domestic violence on June 21 last year against Leander and his father, accusing the two of harassment, ill treatment and demanded maintenance of Rs 4 lakh per month. The magistrate's court had passed their verdict in Rhea's favour stating, "If a woman, irrespective of her age and status, whether married or unmarried, is in a domestic relation of any nature with a male adult, then that woman falls within the category of the aggrieved person and [is] entitled to claim benefit of the provisions of the Domestic Violence Act."
However now, the Sessions Court stated that the judgement over that the matter were not that straight and simple and that both parties should be allowed to produce evidence and present arguments before a conclusion can be drawn over the applicability of the Domestic Violence Act in the case.
In a separate case in the Family Court, earlier last year, Leander had filed a petition seeking the custody of their minor daughter to which Rhea responded by filing a domestic violence case and a plea for maintenance.