NEW DELHI: A plea filed by a Varkala-resident in the Thiruvananthapuram family court in connection with her claim that she is singer Anuradha Paudwal’s daughter has been stayed by the supreme court. A bench led by Chief Justice S A Bobde stayed the proceedings while hearing a plea to transfer the case from Thiruvananthapuram family court to Mumbai.

Karmala Modex, the petitioner, claims that she is the daughter of Arun Paudwal-Anuradha Paudwal couple who had entrusted her to their family friends Ponnachan and Agnes, because they couldn’t find time to take proper care of her because of their hectic career in the music industry. Later, when Ponnachan had to relocate to Thiruvananthapuram from Varkala, Karmala’s parents returned to take her back with them, but she had refused to accompany them at that point. She alleges that Anuradha had since then completely forgotten about her. Even her marriage was arranged by her foster father. Ponnachan allegedly disclosed the details to his daughter on his deathbed.

Following this, when Karmala approached the singer, Anuradha refused to acknowledge the relationship saying that her two daughters would not be able to accept her. Karmala then decided to take the legal route claiming damages to the tune of 50 crore rupees and one-fourth share of her assets.

Anuradha is a well-known playback singer and the recipient of the National Film Award. Her husband, Arun Paudwal, who was a music composer, passed away in 1991. She had earlier dismissed Karmala’s claims as childish allegations that did not merit a response.