look news india
It is common to give gifts in love and spend lavishly on each other, but when love is replaced by hatred and a breakup occurs, can those gifts be recovered through the court? One such surprising and strange case has come to light, where an Indian-origin CEO of a multinational tech company, after his breakup with his ex-girlfriend, spent nearly half of the money spent during the relationship. Rs 3.5 crore (over $420,000) Knocked the court to get it back. However, instead of getting the money back, the court pulled up the savvy industrialist and made such sarcastic remarks, which is now going viral on social media and in legal circles.
According to the case filed in the court, their love affair lasted for about two years. During this time, the CEO spent money like water to keep his partner happy. When there was a rift between the two and the relationship broke down, the CEO prepared an excel sheet and presented each and every expense bill in the court.
The main assets sought for recovery by the CEO included:
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Luxury cars like Mercedes and Porsche: Expensive cars gifted to girlfriend.
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Hermes and Chanel Designer Handbags: Luxury handbags and clothes worth lakhs of rupees.
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Foreign Holidays: Tickets to five-star vacations, private yacht parties and business class flights to Europe and the Maldives.
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Credit Card Bills and Cash Transfers: Direct funds given to girlfriend for personal expenses.
The CEO’s argument was that all this money was spent ‘on the condition of marriage’ and was a kind of ‘conditional investment’ (conditional gift). His allegation was that the woman obtained all these financial benefits from him by false promise of marriage and later cheated and broke up with him.
During the hearing of the case, when the judge saw the list of expenses and the arguments of the CEO, he took the plaintiff (CEO) to task. The judge said in a stern tone but in a very humorous manner:
“Courts are not meant to audit broken hearts or do post-mortems of romance. When you are in a relationship, gifts are given willingly, without any written contract. Love is not a corporate contract or venture capital funding that when the startup (relationship) fails, you come to court seeking your Return on Investment (ROI)!”
The judge further clarified that if an adult spends money on a partner of his own free will and there was no loan agreement or clear legal condition at that time, then the law considers it as an ‘unconditional gift’. Just because a breakup happens, a gift does not turn into a ‘debt’.
The court not only rejected the CEO’s petition but also slammed it for wasting judicial time and turning the court into an arena for personal vendetta. The Court directed that:
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There is no need to return anything gifted to the woman.
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The CEO will have to pay the entire legal fees of his ex-girlfriend.
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The plaintiff was also fined for wasting court time.
As soon as this unique decision came out, there was a flood of memes and reactions on the internet. Many people are calling this an example of the conflict between modern dating and corporate thinking. Legal experts also say that expensive gifts given in any personal relationship are legally considered gifts unless there is strong criminal evidence of fraud or extortion. Heartbreak in love cannot be compensated through civil court.