Man Gets 10-Years Rigorous Imprisonment for Abetting Wife's Suicide

The Bombay High Court has sentenced a man to rigorous imprisonment for 10 years after finding him guilty of torturing his newly-wed wife and abetting her suicide even as it expressed anguish over the "rotten mentality" prevalent in society about women.

A division bench of justices Arun Chaudhari and PN Deshmukh recently held Sanjay Pachaghare, a resident of Tiwsa in Amravati district, guilty under section 306 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) for torturing his wife, a teacher, "in most barbaric manner" forcing her to kill herself, and acquitted other accused in the case dated 2010.

Pachaghare will have to serve the sentence without any facility of remission.

In its judgement, the bench expressed deep concern over growing marital feud between newly-weds on flimsy grounds often leading to a violent end, saying society must attend to the menace of incidents wherein doubts are raised about character of a newly-wed wife, which subsequently leads to bitterness and tragic end.

Society must make efforts to curb unnecessary, unwarranted and surly behaviour of such husbands, the judges said.

While observing that the accused behaved in the most barbaric manner, the HC stressed that only laws are not enough to combat this evil, but the need of the hour is to launch a wider social movement of educating women of their rights, particularly in rural areas.

Pachaghare used to suspect his wife's character because she used to talk with students, and other teachers. The appellant refused to understand that Vandana being a teacher was bound to talk to boys or other teachers, as it was a part of her profession, the High Court stated.

"..What difficulties the father of five girls living in a village must have faced in educating Vandana and then getting her employment. Still she got educated and became qualified to become a primary teacher with Zilla Parishad (ZP) to serve in a village. She was earning Rs. 2500 per month," Justice Chaudhari said in the judgement.

"....And a girl of only 24 years with an ambition to have a husband like her, a teacher, and married the appellant, knowing nothing about his suspicious nature, vitriolic attitude. She had a dream and aspirations of a happy married life.

"She became pregnant from appellant. But she had no other option than to commit suicide with her still-born within six months of her marriage due to the torture by the surly accused," the High Court said.

"Her heart must have shed a secret tear and grief welled up inside to constrict the throat before committing suicide with still-born," the bench noted.