Spiritual Healer, Previously Accused Of Sexual Assault, Wants To “Free” Woman From Her Parents. Court Says No
It’s not just people under the age of 18 that can get influenced and make rash decisions. Sometimes, people who are great influencers and know the tricks of the mind can manipulate one that is in a fragile state. It’s when the victim herself may seem like she is volunteering to stay with the abuser but she may just be psychologically messed up. The Supreme Court fears that’s the case between a 53-year-old spiritual healer and a 21-year-old woman in Kerala.
The spiritual healer approached the court with an aim to “free” the young woman from the custody of her parents. The healer, Kailas Natarajan, who is also a doctor says they have been in a “spiritual live-in relationship” for more than two years.
Natarajan said that since she is an adult, her parents shouldn’t have the right to forcefully keep her from staying with him. His advocate appealed to the court that he isn’t seeking custody of the woman but insisting that as an adult, it should be her choice to stay with whoever she wants.
However, while the appeal seems sensible if you delve deeper into the case, you will understand the apprehensions of her parents as well as the court.
The woman is not mentally sound and her parents had taken her to the spiritual healer to find a cure for her depression. However, even right now she seems evidently disturbed and not in a frame of mind to take decisions. Meanwhile, the petitioner is married, has two children and was charged for the sexual abuse of a 14-year-old child who had come to him for treatment. Owing to the woman’s inability to make sound decisions and the man’s dingy past, the court isn’t keen on her living with the spiritual healer.
Natarajan had approached the Kerala High court earlier however, his plea was rejected. He under the pretext of counselling her alone, got intimate with her and came up with this concept of being her spiritual live-in partner. This is abuse.
Kerala’s spiritual healer wanted to free woman from parent’s custody. SC says no https://t.co/IQ9i4VLCmA
— Hindustan Times (@HindustanTimes) July 6, 2021
Owing to these reasons the court believed that the woman’s custody remaining with her parents was in her best interests. They added that the mental health problems shouldn’t be hidden and denied by parents in India. The bench also asked her parents to produce her before the court after a month along with details of her treatment.
ALSO READ: Goa Court Says Tarun Tejpal Was Acquitted Because The Woman Didn’t Behave Like A Sexual Assault Victim. WTF?
When our mind is vulnerable, it’s open to attacks. So instead of stigmatising mental health issues and seeking out gurus, people should unhesitatingly seek real psychiatric treatment.
