The legal fight in the wake of Aftab Islam’s savage 1999 assault on his wife recently produced yet another landmark legal ruling when the New York State Supreme Court ruled that his assault on his wife was so shocking that Islam forfeited his entire $17 million fortune as part of a court-ordered divorce settlement.
In April 1999, Aftab’s wife, Havell, told him that she wanted a divorce. On April 22, 1999, while Havell slept, he violently attacked her in front of the couple’s children with a pair of dumbbells. As New York Supreme Court Justice Jacqueline Silbermann described the attack,
The husband violently attack his wife with a barbell, causing her teeth and portions of her jaw to fly across the room and bloodying her until her features were unrecognizable. In addition, he continued his murderous assault in front of three of his young children. … as a result of this crime, the wife suffered unspeakable pain, humiliation and fear, and continues to suffer to this day, as do the children.
Havell required 26 separate surgeries to repair the damage from the assault. Aftab was sentenced to eight years in jail after he plead guilty to assault charges.
Aftab’s prosecution created the first controversial divorce-related note. While the court essentially gave the couple’s entire fortune to Havell, it did set aside $400,000 (later reduced to $215,000) for Aftab to pay for defense lawyers. Some feminist groups perceived that as requiring the victim to pay for her attacker’s defense lawyers.
Meanwhile, Aftab’s lawyers contended that since New York law typically calls for a 50-50 split of assets in long-term marriages, the awarding of all but a small percentage of the family fortune to Havell was an abuse of discretion. The New York Supreme Court found otherwise, saying that the attack was so “shocking and egregious” that the lower court had been justified in awarding the bulk of the communal property to Havell.
Source:
Divorce attack has $8M price tag. Dareh Gregorian, New York Post, July 26, 2001.
Wife Must Pay for Batterer’s Criminal Defense. Rita Henley Jensen, Women’s ENews, September 4, 2000.
N.Y.C. banker pleads guilty to attacking wife. India Abroad, August 18, 2000.