Supreme Court judge Kurian Joseph has created a reputation for his efforts to bringing warring families together.
One of the senior most judges presiding in the apex court, Justice Kurian Joseph heads a bench which has seen quite a few major cases involving feuding family members.
In all these situations, Justice Joseph has repeatedly urged the families to not “waste your will, money and energy in courts… at the end of all this, nobody wins.”
Justice Joseph has often lamented that litigants pay high amounts of money to lawyers simply because they are rich. He has said when rich parents leave enough money “you give it to the lawyers.”
Two cases highlight the SC judge’s approach to bring together families without the involvement of lawyers.
Bringing Together Daughters With Their Mother
In one of the cases handled by Justice Joseph, three daughters were fighting with their mother for the control of a large biopharmaceutical company. The case had been the subject of a great deal of litigation which included orders passed by the high court and the Company Law Board.
When the case reached Justice Joseph’s bench, he first enquired if all the four family members were present in the court. When he was told that they were present, he called the four of them before him, and asked them to work together to resolve their dispute.
He advised them that while the case could be decided based on its merits and the law, “we want you to stop fighting.” He further noted that there was nothing more “unfortunate than daughters fighting with their mother for money or authority.”
Justice Joseph told the daughters that even “the God comes after the mother but here you are fighting with her.” He also told that that if the daughters had any respect their father and desired his soul to be in peace then they should stop fighting.
Justice Joseph asked the four family members when they had all sat together to talk and asked to do so immediately, and arranged for a room in the court complex for them to spend time.
After a few hours, the mother and her daughters came back and expressed that they were open to spending one more day together. Justice Joseph warned the daughters against using strong words against the mother and the court adjourned after the daughters agreed to take care of the mother.
The next day, the mother expressed to the judge that finally her dream of bringing the family together could happen if they could stay together for some more days away from the hostilities and then she would be able to welcome her daughters again in her life
Justice Joseph gave them 15 days to do so saying that the family must work to sustain the atmosphere created and “settle their inter se disputes amicably by keeping away all those external forces which, according to them, are standing in the way of the family being together.” He also cautioned them from filing any new any civil or criminal case against each other in the meantime.
Siblings Warring Over Father’s Property
In another case, brothers and sisters of an industrialist family from Bengaluru were fighting over the sharing of their father’s property. Siblings kept contesting for decades a will prepared by the father in 1972.
When the two men and their three sisters appeared in the court, Justice Joseph noted that they had been fighting for 43 years losing many moments together that had more worth than money.
He chastised them that despite their father giving each one of them enough money they were fighting, adding that “money will come and go but you will never get your family back.” He also told them that the souls of their departed parents would find peace only when they stopped fighting.
The judge then asked them to talk to each other saying, “try to rejuvenate your bond… remember about the times when you all used to play together in the same house.”
He also urged them to talk because that is what their children should learn, and “not how to blame each other in courts”.
