The Supreme Court held the husband responsible for the assault inflicted upon a woman in the marital home. The man requested a pre-arrest bail but was denied by the court. The incident in which the verdict went in the woman’s favour happened in Ludhiana.

In June 2020, a woman from Ludhiana lodged a complaint at the police station against her husband and in-laws. She alleged that the husband, mother-in-law and father-in-law assaulted her and brutally beat her over the dowry case. The couple married in 2017 and had a child in 2018. It was the woman’s second marriage and third for the man.

The woman’s complaint from June 2020 read, “On June 12, 2020, at about 9 pm, the petitioner (husband) and his father, armed with a cricket bat gave the complainant merciless beatings in which the petitioner’s mother also participated; the petitioner attempted to strangulate the complainant and his father put a pillow on her face with an intention to kill her; after giving her merciless beatings, she was thrown on the road; on being informed, the complainant’s father and brother came there and got the complainant treated as also medico legally examined.”

The Husband’s advocate Kushagra Mahajan requested anticipatory bail but the court denied it. CJI S A Bobde gave an account of all the things that the man is accused of. Bobde said, “What kind of man are you? Your wife said you were about to murder her by strangulation. She alleged a miscarriage because of you. You used a cricket bat to beat up your wife?”

Advocate Mahajan tried to defend the Husband by saying that it was not him who used the bat instead it was the father. To this, the CJI-led bench said that it doesn’t matter who used the bat to assault her. It is the matrimonial home. It is the duty of the husband and in this case, he is the one liable.

After examining all the evidence and the medical report, the court came to a conclusion of rejecting the Husband’s petition. The High court said that the Medical reports revealed many injuries to the woman. She had bruises on her face and head and also injuries to her private parts.

The final decision was a rejection to grant pre-arrest bail.