‘Suicides due to torture of dowry demand not very rare’: Court lowers husband’s jail term

Written by: Express Web Desk

4 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jul 7, 2026 12:02 PM IST

The Calcutta High Court said the woman’s suicide note ‘clearly indicated’ a threat from her husband and in-laws that if she did not give in to the dowry demands, he would remarry. (AI-generated image)

The Calcutta High Court recently stated that suicides stemming from torture over dowry demands are “not very rare or uncommon” and reduced the sentence awarded to a man held guilty for the death of his wife and minor daughter from life imprisonment to 10 years.

While hearing the plea filed by the man and his parents, who too faced seven years’ imprisonment in the dowry death case, the bench of Justices Arijit Banerjee and Apurba Sinha Ray held that the woman was constantly subjected to cruelty and dowry demands, which led her to kill the child and herself.

“However, needless to say, the commission of suicide failing to bear with the torture for demand of dowry is not very rare or uncommon one, and accordingly, in view of the judgment passed in Hari Om (supra), we are inclined to reduce the sentence of the appellant number 1 from life imprisonment to 10 years rigorous imprisonment but there would be no change in sentence of fine,” the court said.

The woman married the convict in 2010 and they had a child. She allegedly faced constant demands for dowry. On June 23, 2014, her brother was informed of her death. On reaching her matrimonial home, the brother is said to have learnt that the woman had killed herself.

‘Clear threat’

The bench noted that the woman’s suicide note “clearly indicated” a passive threat from her husband and in-laws that if she did not give in to the dowry demands, he would marry someone else.

“If that be so, we can say that the demand for share was so much so that the victim chose to end her life with her minor child. We have found no reason to interfere with the reasoning and conclusion of the learned trial judge. Needless to say, such a demand on the victim was the outcome of the pressure created upon her by her husband. It is not expected that (the husband) will make such a demand in the presence of any independent witness,” held the court.

It, however, acquitted the in-laws, underlining the absence of any “clinching evidence” to prove their active participation in the crime.

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Advocates Avishek Sinha and Madhusree Banerjee, representing the husband and his parents, pointed to a two-day delay in lodging the FIR, but the court ruled it out, saying that the incident was an unfortunate one that left her family “stunned and speechless”.

Justices Arijit Banerjee and Apurba Sinha Ray acquitted the woman’s in-laws, underlining the absence of any “clinching evidence” to prove their active participation in the crime. (Image enhanced using AI)

Public prosecutor Debasish Roy and advocates Sreyashee Biswas and Nandini Chatterjee argued that the woman’s husband and in-laws were rightly convicted and sentenced. Roy argued that dowry demand could take place through various modes and it cannot be said that the woman’s demand for her share of the property can’t be treated as part of the dowry demand.

“They might have been placed in a state of indecisiveness. In our view, such delay cannot give a fatal blow to the prosecution case. Moreover, taking legal advice on such a scenario is the most reasoned step on the part of the de facto complainant,” it was noted.

The court held the trial court was correct in underlining the “continuous pressure” on the woman from her husband to claim her share of ancestral property. Crucially, it stated that it is true that a “lady can demand her share in her ancestral property but when such demand appears to be a result of direction and pressure from her husband”, it could come under the broader term of “dowry demand”.

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“It is true that there is no independent witness, but the factual aspect of demand as narrated by the relatives coupled with the suicide note of the victim are sufficient to show that there was a serious unhappiness in the marital relationship of the victim with her husband,” the court said.

With inputs by Avinash Verma (Avinash is an intern with The Indian Express)