NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court, while expressing serious anguish in a dowry death case, observed that despite India’s significant economic growth, rising literacy rates, and increased participation of women in education and the workforce, crimes against women remain alarmingly high.
In 2023 alone, more than 4.48 lakh such cases were recorded, and dowry-related violence continues to claim over 6,000 lives annually.
The top court made these observations while affirming the life sentence of a man convicted of murdering his wife in Rajasthan in 2011 by setting her on fire. The court said the incident is rooted in domestic abuse and reflective of the enduring menace of dowry-linked violence.
The apex court also agreed with the decision of the Bundi trial court and Rajasthan High Court sentencing the appellant, Shankar, to life imprisonment for killing his wife in a brutal manner.
"Welfare schemes can incentivize education, but cannot alter long-held beliefs about women's roles within marriage and family. As a result, practices such as domestic abuse or even extreme acts like burning a wife (as in this case) persist not as aberrations, but as indications of a disease-afflicted social order," the court said.
Shankar, the appellant, was accused of beating up, pouring kerosene over his wife, Sugna Bai, and killing her by setting her on fire.
Delving into the case, the court said, as per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), more than 4.48 lakh crimes against women were recorded in 2023. Dowry-related violence continues to claim over 6,000 lives annually, revealing the persistence of practices that have long been outlawed. Complaints before the National Commission for Women also consistently show domestic violence as one of the most reported grievances.
"India has experienced significant economic growth, rising literacy, and increased participation of women in education and the workforce. Gender roles do not apply strictly anymore in many urban areas. One cannot assume that all household-related work falls on the woman, whereas it is only the male who is tasked with breadwinning. Yet, in rural and semi-urban scenarios, patriarchy remains a facet of everyday life. Authority within the household is still overwhelmingly male, and women's autonomy is often conditional and constrained. Even if the woman earns, it would still be expected of her that she would set the house right before leaving for work, and busily engage herself in similar work including preparation of meals, when she returns from work," the court observed in its ruling.
It also highlighted that the coexistence of progress and violence signals to a paradox. "Legal and economic advancements are visible on a macro-level, but patriarchy still permeates the everyday. Dowry is outlawed and has been for decades, but the social legitimacy that sustains it is yet to be dismantled," the court stressed.
"After decades of laws, schemes, reforms, and judicial recognition of equality across workplaces, homes, personal relationships, and even the armed forces, why does the control over women's bodies, choices, and lives still persist so deeply within society? Perhaps, the answer lies only with 'We, the People of India'", it stated.