E-Paper
Panchkula: Govt employee habitual of beating up wife to spend 3 years in jail
An assistant in Haryana forests department, the convict repeatedly subjected his wife, a government school lecturer, to domestic violence
Terming his act and conduct highly deplorable, a local court has sentenced an assistant in the Haryana forests department to three years in jail for habitually beating up his wife, a lecturer at a government school in Panchkula.
The court of judicial magistrate first class Aparna Bhardwaj also imposed a fine of ₹7,000 on the convict, who lives in Sector 11, Panchkula.
“The act and conduct of the convict are highly deplorable. The convict beat up the complainant/victim regularly during her stay in her matrimonial home, subjected her to cruelty and also threatened her. The daughter of the victim also supported the case of prosecution and clearly submitted that she observed since her childhood that her father habitually beat up her mother and maltreated her,” ruled the court while pronouncing the quantum of sentence on February 27.
Repeatedly set gas cylinder on fire: Complaint
Approaching the police on March 15, 2021, the complainant had submitted that she married the accused in December 1997.
She alleged that her husband was habitual of fighting, and thrashing her and their children over frivolous things. She had also filed a complaint in September 2012, but the matter ended in compromise after her husband’s assurance. However, nothing changed.
Detailing his onslaughts, she alleged that her husband was habitual of turning on the knob of the gas cylinder, putting the pipe of the gas cylinder under the door and setting it on fire in a state of intoxication. She said the accused would ignite the fire with the help of cockroach spray and sanitiser, etc.
Both their children were studying MBBS in China and returned to India during the Covid-19 pandemic, she said.
Back then, in May 2020, he assaulted their daughter in an inebriated state, causing eye injury. The accused later in the night also set the gas cylinder on fire. The complainant and her children managed to save their lives and spent the night in their car.
To ensure their safety, in June 2020, she shifted to her parental house at Rohtak amid the pandemic. She further alleged that the accused also threatened her and their children through SMS and WhatsApp.
Convict pleaded leniency
Pleading the court for a lenient view, the convict said he was a government employee and will lose his job if he was ordered to undergo imprisonment. Further, he had no source of income except the salary and no other case was pending against him.
However, the public prosecutor opposed his plea, saying the convict should be sentenced to maximum punishment, as he had beaten up the complainant regularly in a state of intoxication during her stay at matrimonial home and also threatened to kill her, her brother and her nephew.
The convict further submitted that he was a caring father who also used the money deposited in his GPF account to fund the overseas education of his children.
However, the court observed, “Merely because the accused used the resources available with him to fund the education of his children does not imply that he did not commit cruelty with the complainant. All parents utilise their resources to the best of their capabilities for the welfare of their children and the same cannot be used as a shield to protect the accused from the consequences of his conduct spanning over several years.”
Sentencing him to three-year jail, the court held that this was not a fit case to release the him on probation as he was habitual of beating up the complainant, subjecting her to cruelty and threatening her.
But the court granted him bail against bail bonds of ₹30,000 with one surety, while also allowing him time till March 27, 2024, to file appeal.
