Chennai: The Madras High Court today adopted a 37-year-old disabled person, by invoking the ‘Loco Parentis’ (in the place of a parent) status, and issued a set of directives to protect his interests. The court made this decision after reviewing a series of tragic incidents, including alleged threats to Manoj Rajan’s life, a failed kidnap attempt, and a fake marriage that he was forcibly made a part of.

Manoj Rajan was born on August 15, 1979, with congenital speech and hearing impairment, and mental retardation. His mother died at the age of 14. When he was 29, his father got him married to one Priya Darshini. A year later, Priya Darshini divorced him on the grounds of his mental retardation.

After the demise of Manoj’s father, the ex-wife tried to take custody of him. When that didn’t work, she allegedly kidnapped him from a special home, where he was staying, and forcibly married him before a pastor in Chennai. The motive behind the forced marriage is strongly suspected to be the Rs.1.6 crores that Manoj made, following the sale of a property that belonged to him. Coincidentally, the sale happened on the very same day of the forced marriage.

Noting that there are lots of discrepancies in the case, Justice Prakash ordered a CB-CID enquiry into Manoj’s abduction. For safety reasons, Manoj had meanwhile been shifted to a home near Madurai, and has been given special police protection.