Fernandes hits a six

The former Defence minister told a city court that he has six brothers, in reality he has only three

The former Defence minister told a city court that he has six brothers, in reality he has only three

His family and female companions are engaged in a pitched battle for claiming his legacy, but firebrand trade union leader George Fernandes has become comfortably numb.


Attention span: George Fernandes with Jaya Jaitley (left) and Leila Kabir (right). file pic

The former convenor of NDA and one of the most high-profile politicians of the country, Fernandes appeared in the Delhi High Court on Monday in a case over his custody. The court had observed that it is not his estranged wife Leila Kabir or his three brothers, but Fernandes himself who will choose where he wants to go.
Justice VK Shali had an hour-long personal interaction with Fernandes, who now suffers from Alzheimer's, and asked him questions pertaining to the dispute around his custody.

Looking lost and frail, 80-year-old Fernandes was shifted to a wheel chair by his security personnel who took him to the court room while the warring family members walked along. Dressed in white pajama, green kurta and a saffron-colored scarf Fernandes could not even recognise his supporters and looked lost and unable to comprehend the situation.

The one-to-one discussion with the judge was shifted to his chamber after the request from both the sides. Justice Shali asked all the family members except a lawyer conversant in Konkani to leave his chamber as he wanted to know the political leader's personal view on his custody. But Fernanders though seemingly understood the questions, could not respond to them. He tried flipping through the newspapers but his voice was hardly audible to anyone. The proceedings which began at 2:36 pm ended at 3:50 pm, including the hour-long personal interaction with the judge.

LOST IN TRANSLATION

The Delhi High Court last week asked the litigants to find a lawyer who knows Konkani so that the court could get to know Fernandes' own views on the matter. Fernandes' brothers had told the court that Konkani and English are the only two languages they use to speak to him. Justice V K Shali directed both the sides to arrange for a Konkani speaking lawyer so that the court could know the views of the veteran leader.

During the interaction with the judge, Fernandes was asked how many brothers he has. He replied six, instead of three. The translator also informed the judge that though Fernandes was able to understand the questions he was unable to respond. The former Samata Party leader has three brothers Richard and Michael and another who stays in Mumbai but has hardly visited Fernandes during the court proceedings.

Fernandes' brothers and estranged wife Leila Kabir are engaged in a court battle for more than a year now over his custody. While the brothers have been alleging that Kabir does not take proper care of his health, she on the other hand claimed that the brothers' sole motivation for Fernandes' custody is his property worth crores.
Fernandes is under treatment at a south Delhi hospital and his brothers had demanded that he be shifted to his official residence at Krishna Menon Marg.

The former defence minister is currently staying with Kabir at Panchsheel Enclave.

THE CONTROVERSY

A firebrand leader who went to jail for opposing the Emergency, NDA's former defence minister George Fernandes is today a shadow of his former self, suffering from Alzheimer's. His estranged family is now alleging that his party colleagues are trying to appropriate Fernandes' assets. Fernandes's wife and son have now written to the Home Ministry and Delhi police to ensure that he gets more security. Fernandes and his wife separated 26 years ago. His son Sean has said Janta Dal United (JDU) party workers' access to Fernandes' residence must be restricted. He has even pointed fingers at Fernandes' close associate Jaya Jaitley, who was accused in the Barak Missile scam. "We don't want our house to be used for any other activity and that's why we want to restrict the entry of people into the house and that includes Jaya Jaitley," his son Sean had told a news agency. Meanwhile, Fernandes' brothers are also engaged in a court battle with Kabir over the custody of the former defence minister. They allege that his estranged wife is not keeping him well.