Q: I am a senior citizen. In 2009, I sold the ground floor of my three-storey house, excluding the garage and mezzanine floor, to a lady who mostly stays abroad. She has appointed a caretaker for the property. The caretaker uses the common passage surrounding the house to crush sugarcane for his juice business. He refuses to stop this even after several requests. Moreover, he uses the reservoir water to clean his machines and raw materials resulting in shortage of water for the rest of us. How can I get rid of this nuisance? A police complaint might create controversy with the local people who are his customers.
Subrata Sil, Calcutta
A: You could send a legal notice to the lady at your ground floor address as well as the overseas one. If that does not work and the nuisance continues, you can file a civil suit of injunction against the lady, her caretaker as well as her agents, seeking restraining orders on them.
Q: The Salt Lake branch of Axis Bank dishonoured my mediclaim policy premium cheque on the ground of “insufficient funds” although there was sufficient money in the concerned account. The bank also charged me for the dishonoured cheque. It is reluctant to refund the charges. What should I do to get it back? I am a retired person.
Debabrata Paul, via email
A: The facts stated by you indicate negligence on the part of the bank. So you could send the bank a legal notice asking them to refund the charges and also seeking compensation for the mental agony caused to you due to their deficiency in service.
Q: Can a daughter-in-law who does not stay with her husband bring charges against her father-in-law and mother-in-law under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code? If yes, how can the old couple get relief from this?
Prabhat Sen Sarma, Chinsurah, West Bengal
A: If a woman lodges a complaint of mental or physical cruelty against her in-laws, irrespective of whether she resides with them or not, and the police register an FIR based on her complaint, a case under Section 498A of the IPC may be made. There is nothing much that can be done except collecting as much proof as possible on the fact that the in-laws had no contact with the woman and did not interfere in their son’s marital matters. They could also inform the local police station, in writing, about the state of affairs.