When she
called up I was surprised and shocked. I had not imagined that the situation
could be so bad. She was seeking a meeting with me, and said that her son was
just a few months old. She wanted to make sure that when she travels a long
distance to meet me, I will give her adequate time to hear her case.
She said
there was no choice left then, she was expecting her husband, an employee, to
file a divorce petition soon. She wanted to meet me in that matter, she sought
my help. I used a small pause to gather myself. Obviously there was a conflict
between an employee and his wife, and I was getting drawn in it somehow. ‘Limits
are placed by one’s official role;’ I explained her, adding ‘I will not be able
to transgress those limits.’ I also told her that as an HR manager my first
responsibility is to my employees, not to others.
She said
she understood my position, but politely pointed out that I was taking a stance
before hearing her. She was articulate, persuasive and spoke fluent English.
Something inside me told me that the situation was serious and I must exercise
caution.
When it
became clear by evening that I will have to travel to Hyderabad, I wondered at
the synchronicity. She had called up from Hyderabad and she was going to travel
all the way to Mumbai to meet me. And work demands that I go to Hyderabad the
next day!
I called
her up and mentioned my travel plan. I invited her to meet me at my hotel. She
was welcome to join me for a breakfast meeting, I advised her, with her father.
She came there with her father and uncle. She introduced herself, she was well
qualified, a post graduate. Her marriage was arranged through some known
persons. The young lady was not even thirty. Her husband was placed abroad for
work and had a three year contract. She travelled with him. Not a happy
marriage, she said. They fought bitterly. He treated her badly. The two year
old marriage was on the rocks.
It was a
dowry case!
The young
lady was surprisingly well composed and did not make a melodrama of her story.
Attempts to reconcile had failed. He was now shifted to India and she did not
know his salary at all. He was giving her no money, and did not even come over
to meet his son.
She said
that he would present wrong information to the court about his salary which
would affect her claim for alimony adversely. I should help her by giving her
his salary details, she said, so that she could file a justified claim for
maintenance.
Discreet
enquiries led me to conclude that the facts explained by her were essentially
correct, although I could not ascertain whether it was a dowry case. She called
up later gave exact details of income mentioned by him. It was clear that he
was misleading the court.
Normally
salary details of an employee are never given to anyone except in some cases to
banks. I wondered what I should do in such a case.
What would
you suggest? Would you give it to her if you were in my position?
Vivek