Dejected and traumatised after being caught in a protracted legal battle defending themselves against allegations of their daughter-in-law and her family, an elderly couple has sought mercy killing from the President.

The couple, retired central government employee DD Sharma and his wife Shakuntla who are both 68, is unable to meet their daily expenses, thanks to the court proceedings that have dragged on for a decade now.

"Please give me the permission for mercy killing or send me some poison so that I can free myself and my wife from the wrath of the draconian law of domestic violence," pleaded Sharma in a letter to the President and the Chief Justice of India (CJI). The couple wrote to the President on January 14 this year, but is yet to get a reply.

Sharma, a resident of Yamuna Vihar in Delhi, said he and his wife have been falsely implicated in the case. He said there has been no development in the case despite it dragging for 10 years. He further alleged that despite lodging a complaint with the National Commission for Women (NCW), nobody has come to their rescue.

"We are bearing the brunt of an offence not committed by us and no authority has come forward to help us," Sharma said, adding: "Our daughter-in-law, who is the main source of this harassment, is moving around freely, why this discrimination against us?"

In her complaint, the couple's daughter-inlaw has mentioned that they used to torture her by hitting her and throwing hot water on her. However, the senior citizens claimed they couldn't have assaulted their daughter-in-law as she never lived with them for several years.

"Our son is in the Air Force. After the marriage, our daughter-in-law went to live with him at the location where he was posted. After just a year of marriage, she started forcing us to transfer our house to our son's name. Her parents also started pressuring us to transfer our property in our son's name. We told them that after us, our son is the legal heir of our property, but we would not transfer it under any pressure. While the issue was settled for a while, we did not know that it would again come to haunt us. A case of domestic violence was filed against us. Whenever our daughter came back to Delhi, she barely visited us and instead lived with her parents. In such a situation, when she never lived with her in-laws, how can she file a case of domestic violence against us," Sharma asked.

He claimed that when they approached police officers and the NCW, they returned disappointed. "The law to protect women is being used against a woman. Is there no law in India to protect the interests of the senior citizens? My wife and I have faced immense pain in handling this issue. People who are at fault need to be punished, but those who have been falsely implicated should be rescued," he said.

Surprisingly, this is not the only such case. Six similar petitions have been filed before the President where harassed men and their families have sought mercy killing.

MAIL TODAY spoke to more such families. Lucknow-based petitioner Jitendra Gupta called it 'legal terrorism' while seeking permission from the President to kill himself. In his plea he said the harassment of dealing with a false case is equivalent to slow death.

The 33-year-old is facing a case of Section 498A. "Although my family and I are out on bail, we are puzzled with the kind of allegations levelled against us. Despite a complaint against me, I have been fulfiling all my responsibilities towards my wife. This fake case has caused me immense humiliation in the society with no way to get out of this legal mess," Gupta told MAIL TODAY.

Activists too, blamed it on the slow progress in court cases and said it led to acute mental torture. "Lives are being ruined because of false cases. The reputation of these families is gone forever. Long trials take a toll on one's life. It is essential that the judiciary fast-track cases related to matrimonial disputes and punish the wrong," said Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj, filmmaker and men's rights activist.

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