AHMEDABAD: Visually challenged Monika Bhatti has attended 99 hearings in a civil court in Gandhinagar in last seven years on her application for seeking maintenance for survival from her father, who too is physically challenged with 40% disability.On January 5, 2018, the 30-year old will be going to the court on 100th occasion. Her next visit to the civil court at Gandhinagar could be one of her last visits as Gujarat high court has intervened in the issue and directed the lower court to speed up the proceeding and take a final decision on Monika’s application in six weeks.The case has got its own complexity involving various litigations between family members since 1982. This included several civil suits regarding ownership of the house. Monika’s father, Bhagwandas, was first sued by his wife, and a family court in Ahmedabad ordered him to pay monthly maintenance of Rs 80. Few years later, the husband and wife patched up and the case was withdrawn.After the family fell apart, the daughter, Monika, sought maintenance from her father in 2010 under provisions of Section 125 of the CrPC. She claimed that her father runs a business of rubber moulding and earns Rs 50,000 per month.The defence for the father was a case that he had filed against his son Mahesh, Monika’s brother, for maintenance. A family court had ordered the son in 2014 to pay Rs 2,000 every month to Bhagwandas because he had no means of earning. This, to an extent, gave a jolt to Monika as her case got dragged further.Irked with the delay, Monika began levelling accusations against judges and the lawyers too started distancing themselves from her case.When the court did not pass any order even after 99 hearing dates, she moved the high court to expedite the proceeding. When the HC inquired, the judges in Gandhinagar complained about Monika’s allegations and repeated applications for transfer of her case to another court. A lengthy report from the concerned judge showed how the judges as well as the lawyers kept recusing themselves from the case.Justice J B Pardiwala also noticed Monika’s impatience and observed, “It appears on plain reading of the report that it is the applicant who has created trouble for herself.” The HC asked Monika to cooperate with the civil court in future, and directed the concerned judge to complete the proceeding and take a decision on her maintenance application in six weeks.