Till money do us part: Woman moves court after man she met on matrimonial app fails to pay back

A woman was given a run for her money, quite literally, after a man she met on a matrimonial app borrowed money from her in confidence of paying it back, but failed to do so. She eventually filed a suit for recovering the money that she herself had borrowed from a bank and won the case against the man before a Delhi court..Civil Judge Gagandeep Jindal decreed the suit in favour of the plaintiff woman against the defendant for Rs 1.24 lakh along with a pendente lite (during litigation) and a future interest of 9% per annum from the date of filing of the case till its realisation.“Costs of suit are also awarded in favour of the plaintiff,” the Court said..In December 2019, the woman is stated to have met the man, who lives in Hyderabad, on a matrimonial app. Their conversations began through WhatsApp calls, phone calls and texts where they exchanged information about their families and she gave a “clear indication” to marry the defendant.However, on January 3, 2020, according to the plaintiff, the man informed her about the issues he was facing at his rented accommodation in Hyderabad. He also reportedly told her that he owed his flatmate Rs 1.70 lakh.The woman claimed that she advised him to take his family’s help or a bank loan. The man refused to do either, saying that the loan wouldn’t be approved.Thereafter, she applied for an instant loan of Rs 2 lakh with 11% interest. On receiving Rs 1.98 lakh on approval, she transferred the money through UPI to the defendant, who assured of paying it back within five months..On January 30, 2020, the man is stated to have informed the plaintiff that he had met with an accident, and requested for money, following which she transferred Rs 5,000 to his back account.The woman reminded him of the loan when the first EMI got deducted from her account on February 7, 2020. The man supposedly assured of sending her the first instalment soon. The woman subsequently paid his mobile bill and some more money, totalling to Rs 3,838.On seeing his conduct, the woman was mentally disturbed and sought professional help from a counsellor, for which she paid Rs 10,000.When the plaintiff again insisted on the payment of the EMI for the loan she had borrowed from the bank, the man transferred her money on four occasions totalling to Rs 1 lakh. As the rest of the money was never returned despite numerous reminders, she resorted to sending him a legal notice on August 7, 2020.When the man still didn’t pay up, the plaintiff moved court. The defendant was summoned through WhatsApp on December 16, 2020, but failed to appear..The Court, therefore, proceeded with the judgment ex-parte. The woman recorded her evidence, providing records of her various money transactions, screenshots of Google Pay accounts of both, and the transaction with the counsellor.The judgment noted that the woman’s case remained “uncontroverted and un-rebutted” as no one appeared on behalf of defendant to cross-examine the plaintiff's witness. It stated,“All the averments made in the plaint are deemed to be admitted and documents placed on record stand duly proved with regard to the said claim.”.However, it was noted that the woman had not placed any document on record to prove the expenses towards her counselling sessions and litigation. “She has also claimed Rs.1 lac as compensation for mental torture, harassment faced by her. It cannot be said that a person faces mental harassment just due to recovery of some amount from another person/ defendant,” the Court observed.The woman was therefore “not entitled” to recover payment towards her counselling sessions, litigation expenses and compensation, the Court held.“…Ends of justice would be met, if the plaintiff is granted pendente-lite and future interest at the rate of 9% per annum,” the order stated..[Read the order]