“The child was born while she was still married"
Brinda Kantamanen tied the knot with her lover and had his baby while she was still married.
She managed to keep her relationship with Matthew Hall and pregnancy a secret from her husband of 18 years, Ravi.
However, at Uxbridge Magistrates Court on April 22, 2021, Brinda admitted bigamy.
She now faces the possibility of jail as magistrates said all sentencing options are open to them.
Brinda falsified part of her name when she married Matthew at Ealing Town Hall, West London, in 2017. She had entered an “incorrect” name for her father on the marriage certificate.
It was heard that both sets of homes were just three minutes apart.
Ravinder Chodha, prosecuting, said:
“The complainant [Ravi] confronted the defendant about the marriage.
“She accepted that she had in fact married him and that they had a child together.
“The child was born while she was still married to the complainant.
“She had hidden that pregnancy from the complainant during the course of their marriage.”
Brinda and Ravi married in May 1999 in North Carolina. They had a traditional Indian ceremony later that year. They have two children.
The couple then moved to London where Ravi works as a director for an international consultancy firm. Meanwhile, Brinda runs a computing consultancy firm.
But by 2017, their marriage had started to decline.
Ravi was suspicious of his wife as she was away often.
In a statement, Ravi said: “Through our marriage up to 2017 whenever I confronted her about her time away from home, she either turned on the charm and became affectionate or threatened suicide.”
In December 2017, Ravi discovered that Brinda married Matthew two months earlier, leaving him “sad and distraught”.
In March 2021, Brinda admitted bigamy. At the time, a magistrate told her:
“The court is likely to need to consider custody.”
Aggravating features of the case were that Brinda had a child and hid the pregnancy.
The maximum sentence for bigamy is seven years in prison.
Ravi said:
“I find it difficult to trust anyone.”
“My parents loved the defendant and treated her like a daughter, her actions have left them distraught and worried.”
On Matthew, he added: “I discovered that he has lived for several years within a three-minute walk from our house.”
Brinda’s marriage to Ravi was formally dissolved in 2019.
Brinda, who now lives in Guildford, Surrey, will be sentenced on May 28, 2021.
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