Long way to achieve complete equality for girl children: Calcutta High Court’s Port Blair Bench

Setting aside the discharge of the mother-in-law of a woman who died by suicide after killing her one-and-a-half-year-old daughter, the Calcutta High Court’s Port Blair Circuit Bench said society still has a long way to go to ensure full equality for girl children.

The Port Blair court had released the woman’s father-in-law, who was accused of torturing her and demanding dowry from her parents, especially after she gave birth to a girl. He killed his daughter and himself in 2021.

The high court decided that the dead woman’s mother-in-law, brother-in-law and sister-in-law should surrender before the first instance court within four weeks.

Justice Apurba Sinha Ray, who delivered the verdict on February 6 over the objection of the prosecution, lamented: “While we are happy and truly joyful that our daughters recently won the World Cup in Cricket and have also achieved remarkable achievements in different fields, sectors, etc., Rudrika’s demise at the age of one and a half reminds us that we still have a long way to go to achieve full equality for our daughters.”

Justice Ray observed that this court “reminds one of the well-known passage quoted in Justice Krishna Iyer’s Essays in ‘Random Thoughts’: ‘No society is free until the last damsel in distress is free’.”

Judge Ray noted that, according to the statements of witnesses, it was alleged that the dead woman was subjected to mental and physical torture.

A woman named Bhawna died by committing suicide by hanging herself after strangling her baby girl in Port Blair on July 8, 2021, while her husband was in his office.

The high court noted that the sessions judge had concluded that there was sufficient material to frame charges against the husband alone under Sections 498(A) (cruelty by husband or his relatives against a married woman) and 304(B) (dowry death) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Setting aside the discharge of the four in-laws, Justice Ray observed that the trial judge had disregarded the evidence of vital witnesses, who were relatives of the deceased woman.

The high court directed the sessions judges to take the mothers-in-law into custody and release them on bail if they wish to grant bail bonds in accordance with the law.

“He will thereafter take necessary steps to frame the charges against the accused under appropriate sections of the law,” Justice Ray said.

The lawyer appearing on behalf of the state drew the attention of the high court to the testimony of several witnesses, showing that there was incriminating evidence against all the accused who were released. He stated that the deceased was subjected to physical and mental cruelty, which forced her to kill herself after strangling her own baby.

The state lawyer stated that the couple, who got married in 2018, resided in Port Blair due to their husband’s job posting there.

Her mother-in-law allegedly demanded additional dowry and after the woman gave birth to a girl, the torture escalated with demands of ₹ 20 lakh to be paid by her parents for not giving birth to a boy.

The lawyer representing the four mothers-in-law stated that most of the witnesses’ statements were about the deceased’s husband and not against the mother-in-law.

He also stated that there was no demand for dowry from the in-laws before the crime was committed and that they were not even in Port Blair, the capital of Andaman and Nicobar Island, where the marital dispute between the husband and wife allegedly took place.

Those in distress or suicidal tendencies can call Lifeline Foundation at – 033-24637401/32 or any number on this link.