Mumbai: In its order, a Mumbai metropolitan magistrate court has held that tennis legend Leander Paes committed different acts of domestic violence against his former partner Rhea Pillai.
It may be recalled that model-actor Rhea Pillai had filed a domestic violence case against Paes back in 2014.
The court ordered Leander Paes to pay a monthly rent of ₹ 50,000, besides monthly maintenance of ₹ 1 lakh to Rhea Pillai if she opts to leave their shared residence, reported news agency PTI.
Metropolitan magistrate Komalsing Rajput had passed the order earlier in February, which was made available on Wednesday.
Rhea Pillai had approached the court in 2014 and sought relief and protection under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, saying that she was in a live-in relationship, akin to marriage, with Leander Paes for eight years.
She had claimed that Leander Paes, “caused verbal, emotional and economic abuse, which resulted in tremendous emotional violence and trauma.”
“It is proved that the respondent caused various acts of domestic violence,” the magistrate said in her order.
According to the magistrate, Leander Paes’ career in tennis is ‘almost over’, and it would cause ‘serious prejudice’ to direct him to reside in a rented home while also paying maintenance to Rhea Pillai.
