Case Story: J’s Fight for Dignity with Neev by her side

She came to us as a scared young woman. Today, she stands stronger—with her child, her voice, and the law finally catching up.

In 2022, J was 25 when she came to us. She had been married just a few months earlier, in May. By August—newly pregnant—she was already abandoned by her husband.

At the time, we were working out of a small office in Old Mustafabad, a remote corner of North East Delhi. J came to us with two notices—a divorce notice and a notice for restitution of conjugal rights—both served on the same day. She had no lawyer, no income, and no one to guide her.

We invited the husband for mediation, hoping for a resolution. He refused to cooperate and even behaved threateningly during his only visit to our office. Mediation was no longer an option.

In December 2022, a domestic violence case was filed on her behalf. By January, she was eight months pregnant and stopped coming to court. She gave birth in February 2023, entirely alone.

In April 2023, the husband appeared in court and declared an income of ₹20,000/month. The court granted ad interim maintenance of ₹5,000. But despite this, he never paid. An execution petition was filed under the Domestic Violence case. During those proceedings, on 19th December 2024, he told the court that he would neither pay nor appear in court again.

In a parallel CrPC maintenance case, the husband's conduct was so inappropriate that two judges recused themselves from hearing the matter.

After more than two years of waiting, he was finally arrested on 16th April 2025.

The next hearing was listed for 19th April 2025. The judge was on leave, but the husband came to court—and for the first time in over two years, handed over ₹61,000 in maintenance, for J and her now two-year-old child. It was the first financial support she ever received from him.

And yet—this is not justice. Not fully. The amount due is still unpaid in full. The husband, despite his outright defiance of the court and blatant abandonment of his wife and unborn child, has gotten away with delaying proceedings, disrespecting judges, and refusing to follow orders for over two years. It is a painful reminder of how the wheels of justice turn painfully slow—especially for women like J, who enter the system without power, money, or influence. That he was allowed to behave like this in full public view of the courts without serious consequence is not just frustrating—it’s tragic.

But even in this deeply imperfect system, something shifted. A mother, who had no one to rely on, held on for over two years—and the courts, finally, moved.

When J first came to us, she was a young, scared girl. Today, she is a mother, a survivor, and a woman with unshakeable resilience. The road ahead is still long. But we believe in her strength. We believe in her right to justice.

And every step of the way, we will continue to stand by her.