Gurugram: The Punjab and Haryana High Court granted bail to a 35-year-old man accused of battering his pregnant wife with fists, kicks and a knife after she refused to undergo an illegal sex-determination test, advising him to mend his drinking habit and look after his ageing mother.
Justice Sanjay Vashisth said the allegations against the husband were “undoubtedly reprehensible” if proved at trial, but granted bail after noting that he had already spent over three months in custody, the investigation was complete, and that the trial was likely to take considerable time.
Keeping him in jail indefinitely during that period, the court held, would serve no useful purpose.
Justice Vashisth said the wife, if she wished, could continue to stay at her parents’ home until she delivered the child and recovered her physical and mental health, to spare her any “untoward situation or inconvenience” at the matrimonial home during this period.
The judge added that it would also serve the larger interest of the family if the husband made “sincere efforts to overcome his habit of consuming liquor” and attended to his responsibilities toward his ageing mother and family.
The resident of Lakhewali in Punjab’s Sri Muktsar Sahib district has been in judicial custody since 21 April after his wife lodged a case.
The couple married on 5 May 2019 and have two daughters, aged five-and-a-half and two. The woman was around three months pregnant with their third child at the time of the alleged assault.
Her husband allegedly pressed her repeatedly to undergo the sex-determination test as he wanted to know the sex of the foetus because he did not want a third daughter.
According to the FIR registered at Lakhewali police station, the accused frequently quarreled with and assaulted his wife after consuming liquor.
The FIR accused him with attempting to prevent a child from being born alive, physical assault, and weapon-based injury under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
According to the FIR, the matter turned violent on 14 April and again the following morning. The police accused the husband of grabbing his wife by the hair, banging her head against a wall, and punching and kicking her. He allegedly also caused injuries on her forearms with a knife or vegetable cutter.
The FIR was registered on 20 April, five days after the alleged assault.
The husband’s counsel, Impinder Singh Dhaliwal, argued that the five-day delay in lodging the FIR was not explained. Although the complainant suffered 11 injuries, he said they were “simple in nature”.
The state, represented by Additional Advocate General (AAG) Gurpartap Singh, did not dispute that the injuries were simple, but pressed for keeping the husband in jail.
Referring to the police status report, the AAG submitted that the accused had wanted the pregnancy terminated if the foetus turned out to be female, and that his alleged use of a sharp-edged weapon amounted to an attempt to prevent the child from being born alive, a grave offence under Section 91 of the BNS.
The bail order came with conditions attached. The court directed the husband not to threaten or influence any prosecution witness, directly or indirectly. It also clarified that nothing in its observations should be read as a view on the merits of the case, leaving the trial court free to decide independently.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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