New Delhi, March 9: A husband is liable if his wife is assaulted in the matrimonial home even if injuries are inflicted by his relatives, the Supreme Court said on Monday. The apex court made these remarks while hearing a man's application seeking for anticipatory bail. The man approached the Supreme Court after the Punjab and Haryana High Court had refused to grant anticipatory bail to him. In Consensual Relationship, No Rape Case if Promise To Marry Not False at inception, Says Supreme Court.

The man's wife lodged a complaint in June last year. She had alleged that her husband, father-in-law and mother-in-law assaulted her because she could not fulfill their growing dowry demands. When the accused man's counsel Kushagra Mahajan insisted for anticipatory bail, CJI S A Bobde said: "What kind of a man are you? She alleges that you were about to kill her by strangulation. She alleges that you forced a miscarriage. What kind of man are you to use a cricket bat to beat up your wife?" Damaging Reputation of Spouse Amounts to Mental Cruelty, Says SC.

When Mahajan pointed out that the woman had alleged it was her father-in-law who had used the bat and not her husband, the bench said: "It does not matter whether it was you (husband) or your father who allegedly used the bat to assault her. When injuries are inflicted on a woman in a matrimonial home, the primary liability is on the husband." The top court also denied pre-arrest bail to the man.

In her complaint, the woman had also alleged that she had miscarried twice earlier because of assault in her matrimonial home. According to a TOI report, the couple tied the knot in 2017. It was the man’s third marriage and the woman’s second.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 09, 2021 11:30 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).