A metropolitan magistrate court in Bombay held earlier this month that tennis player Leander Paes committed various acts of domestic violence against former partner, actress and model Rhea Pillai. The court asked Paes to pay her a monthly rent of Rs. 50,000 apart from a monthly maintenance of Rs. 1 lakh if she chose to leave their shared residence.
Rhea had approached the court in 2014, seeking relief under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, saying that she was in a live-in relationship with Paes, akin to marriage, for eight years. She claimed that the tennis player, through his act and conduct “caused verbal, emotional and economic abuse, which resulted in tremendous emotional violence and trauma”. The court said, “Considering the facts admitted by (Paes)… it can be said that (Pillai) succeeded in proving all allegations constituting emotional and economic violence… burden shifts on (Paes) to prove counter.”
The court added that rather than denying the allegations, Leander preferred to justify facts by putting forward his own version about every aspect, including desertion, adultery, non-payment of expenses, hacking of computer, and presence of other persons in the house. “No strict proof of each and every aspect is required beyond reasonable doubt,” the court observed.