Leander Paes found guilty of domestic violence against partner Rhea Pillai: Court
Mumbai, Feb 25: A metropolitan magistrate court here has held in its order in a domestic violence case filed by model-actor Rhea Pillai against her former partner, tennis player Leander Paes, that he committed various acts of domestic violence against her.
The court also directed Paes to pay monthly rent of Rs 50,000, apart from monthly maintenance of Rs 1 lakh to Pillai if the latter chooses to leave their shared residence.
Metropolitan magistrate Komalsing Rajput had passed the order earlier this month, which was made available on Wednesday.
Pillai had approached the court in 2014 seeking relief and protection under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, saying that she was in a live-in relationship, akin to marriage, with Paes for eight years.
She had claimed that Paes, through his acts and conduct "caused verbal, emotional and economic abuse, which resulted in tremendous emotional violence and trauma".
The magistrate, in her order, said, "It is proved that the respondent caused various acts of domestic violence."
Directing Paes to pay monthly rent of Rs 50,000, apart from monthly maintenance of Rs 1 lakh to Pillai, the court, however, said if she chooses to continue living in their shared residence (at Bandra), she will not be entitled to monetary relief.
The magistrate said that with Paes' career in tennis 'almost over', it would cause 'serious prejudice' to order him to live in a rented home while also paying maintenance to Pillai.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
