In a case that highlights the interconnectedness of personal and professional lives, a station master in India has been granted a divorce after a 12-year legal battle, sparked by a single mispronounced word – “OK.” The story began in 2011 when the station master, a resident of Visakhapatnam, and his wife from Durg, entered into a marriage that quickly turned turbulent.
During a heated phone argument while on duty, the station master ended the call with a seemingly innocuous “OK.” However, this “OK” was misinterpreted by a colleague on the other end of the radio transmission, leading to a catastrophic series of events. The colleague, mistaking the word as a signal to dispatch a freight train, sent the train through a restricted area in Maoist-affected territory. This unauthorized route resulted in a massive ₹3 crore penalty for the railways, as the train violated night-time restrictions.
The station master was subsequently suspended for his role in the incident, further compounding the existing marital discord. His personal and professional life became entangled in a web of chaos.
The situation escalated when the station master filed for divorce, while his wife counter-sued him, his father, elder brother, and other family members under IPC Section 498A for cruelty and harassment. The case was transferred to a family court in Durg after the wife approached the Supreme Court.
Despite the family court rejecting the divorce petition, the station master persevered, taking the case to the Chhattisgarh High Court. After a grueling 12-year battle, Justices Rajani Dubey and Sanjay Kumar Jaiswal finally ruled in favor of the station master, granting him a divorce.
The court’s decision stemmed from the wife’s continued contact with her former lover after marriage, her false accusations of infidelity against her husband, and her baseless allegations of dowry and cruelty. These actions were deemed by the court as mental cruelty, causing significant emotional distress to the station master.
The case serves as a stark reminder of the delicate balance between personal and professional lives, demonstrating how a seemingly innocuous word can have devastating consequences, impacting not only personal relationships but also professional careers and even national infrastructure. The story also highlights the complexities of marital disputes, showcasing the lengths to which people will go to seek justice and resolution, even when the initial trigger is a mispronounced word.
