Advocate Arun Johny

Questions Answered by Advocate Arun Johny (25+ answers)

Q: Settlement of loan and alimony after divorce

I would like to file for divorce mutual or otherwise.My issue is that my husband has taken loans on my name for his business Will I be liable to pay for it after divorce or will court ask him to pay it .Also he will not be willing to pay me any alimony even if court grants it.Can anyway throw insight on this matter.

Advocate Arun Johny answered
In a mutual divorce, you and your husband must sign a written agreement deciding exactly how much he will pay you and who handles the debts. You have the power here because the divorce cannot happen unless you sign the final papers after six months; if he refuses to agree to fair terms or pay the alimony, you can simply stop the process and refuse to sign. Once the court officially grants the divorce based on your agreement, the law treats it as a binding order. i can help you for filing mutual divorce.

Q: SERVICE CERTIFICATE TO BE MODIFIED AS SEPARATION ON "MEDICAL GROUNDS"

My daughter worked in a Private Company for 5 months. Due to severe eye infection and back pain, she could not continue further and submitted the medical certificate. The company has issued her a Service Certificate mentioning that she was separated on 17th April 2025. Due to this remark SEPARATED she is not getting any job in other company. Kindly advise in this regard.

Advocate Arun Johny answered
The term “separated” in a service certificate is prejudicial and unnecessary, especially when employment ended due to medical reasons duly supported by a certificate; your immediate steps should be to (i) send a formal written request/legal notice to the company asking them to correct the service certificate to neutral wording such as “resigned due to medical reasons” or “employment ceased on medical grounds”, enclosing the medical records, (ii) clearly state that the present wording is causing loss of future employment and amounts to unfair labour practice, and (iii) if the company refuses, file a complaint before the Labour Officer/Assistant Labour Commissioner, who can direct correction of records—courts and labour authorities consistently hold that employers cannot issue stigmatic certificates when separation was not due to misconduct; this issue is usually resolved quickly once legal notice or labour intervention is initiated.

Q: Reply to Divorce notice sent by my wife today. I am muslim from Kerela

I am Dr Fishad.My wife sent me divorce notice. How i should proceed

Advocate Arun Johny answered
First, do not ignore the notice; engage a competent family-law advocate immediately and send a reasoned reply within the stipulated time, neither admitting allegations nor escalating language. Second, collect and preserve all records (marriage documents, communications, financials, proof of conduct, child-related records if any). Third, assess the notice objectively to decide the route—conciliation/mutual settlement (if feasible) versus contested defence—and take a clear stand in your reply. Fourth, avoid direct confrontations or informal negotiations without counsel. Fifth, if there is a risk of parallel cases (DV/maintenance), prepare income–liability details and ensure compliant conduct from day one.

Q: My Experience and reliving with settlement

I worked in a private microfinance institution for 6 years and 4 months but when I got another job I informed the company I was working with about my releasing 7 days ago but I did not get any reply from them. I terminated my job and handed over all my assets but after 2 weeks when I contacted them for further proceedings they said that I will be absconded and if not I will have to settle. I do not have that much cash so I informed them to deduct it from the settlement amount.

Advocate Arun Johny answered
This is a common employer pressure tactic, and their stand is legally weak if facts are as you state: since you gave prior intimation, stopped work, and handed over all company assets, the employer cannot arbitrarily brand you as “absconded” merely because they did not acknowledge your release; absconding applies only where an employee disappears without notice or handover. Your practical remedy now is to (i) send a formal email/letter (keep proof) stating the date of resignation, asset handover, willingness to adjust any notice-period shortfall from final settlement, and requesting relieving/experience letter, (ii) clearly deny the “absconded” allegation and ask them to specify the alleged dues in writing, (iii) if they still refuse settlement, file a written complaint before the Labour Officer/Assistant Labour Commissioner for illegal withholding of settlement and coercion—labour authorities routinely direct employers to release dues and documents when handover is complete; importantly, an employer cannot force cash payment when adjustment from settlement is feasible, nor can they withhold your settlement indefinitely to compel payment.

Q: Address proof for passport renewal

My doughter lives with me and she turned 18 May 2025. She only have her passport as photo id and nothing else. Tenancy Contract is in my name and passport officer refused to accept this as address proof for my doughter. I approached Adhar Seva and they refused to accept her passport as valid photo id since it is expired. I took residence Certificate from Municipal Corporation on her name but it doesn't have photo in it. I took cast certificate again that also doesn't have photo. What to do now

Advocate Arun Johny answered
This is a documentation deadlock, but it has a clear practical fix if you do it in the right order: first, apply for Aadhaar enrolment/update under the “Head of Family” address proof, where your valid Aadhaar + your tenancy agreement + Municipal Residence Certificate are sufficient, even if your daughter has no photo ID—UIDAI permits Aadhaar enrolment for 18+ applicants without photo ID using introducer/HoF verification; once Aadhaar is generated (or updated with photo), it becomes the base ID, after which you can (i) update her Aadhaar photo/address formally, and (ii) use Aadhaar as address proof to reissue/renew her passport in her own name; practically, revisit Aadhaar Seva Kendra (not franchise), insist on HoF-based enrolment, and if refused, escalate to the UIDAI Regional Office—once Aadhaar is done, all other documents fall in line quickly.