NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has refused to grant bail to a man accused of attempting to kill his wife in 2018, observing that the “notion of patriarchal entitlement” could not be accepted in law as it reduces women to “subservience.”
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, while dismissing the man’s bail plea, underlined that a wife’s assertion to not face domestic violence could never justify a violent response by her husband. The accused is alleged to have fired at his wife after she refused to accompany him back to the matrimonial home.
Rejecting the defence that the act was committed in the spur of the moment, the court in its August 18 order said, “The plea of anger at the spur of the moment would amount to legitimising the notion of patriarchal entitlement which reduces women to subservience and even her refusal to return to violent matrimonial home is treated as provocation. Holding such a view would be not only regressive but also contrary to the intent of the law.”
The bench stressed that offences of domestic violence of such grave nature, where there was an intention to kill, must be taken seriously. It further observed that in such cases, the fact of marriage could not be seen as a mitigating factor, but rather an aggravating one.
The accused argued he shot at his wife out of sudden rage and had no intent to kill. However, the court rejected this, stating that his claim reflected patriarchal entitlement.
According to the prosecution, the victim chose not to live with him due to persistent violent behaviour. He often beat her while drunk and had previously been jailed for other criminal activities.