71-year-old jailed for 3 years for attacking wife

The sessions court said that no evidence was brought forth by the prosecution to prove that the accused had been harassing his wife since their marriage

MUMBAI: The sessions court has sentenced a 71-year-old man to three years in prison for injuring his wife with a sickle while she was trying to save their daughter from being assaulted by him.

(Shutterstock)

“The prosecution has proved that the accused has voluntarily caused simple hurt to the complainant by means of sickle which is an act punishable u/s 324 of IPC,” said additional sessions judge Shayana V Patil.

The incident occurred in October 2019, when her husband Shashikant Barhate came home one evening and began abusing and assaulting their daughter with a sickle. When she tried to intervene, he struck her on the left shoulder with the sickle, which resulted in grievous injuries. The Mankhurd police subsequently registered a first information report (FIR) against Barhate.

In her plea before the court, his wife also alleged that she had been subjected to consistent physical and mental harassment since their marriage.

The prosecution relied on direct and circumstantial evidence such as CCTV footage, assault weapon, clothes of the complainant, and medical evidence to prove their case. In her deposition, the wife stated that her husband had threatened to kill her and her daughter after assaulting them.

The court observed that while Barhate’s assault was directed at his daughter and not his wife, the prosecution had failed to establish that he had intentionally harmed his wife in an attempt to kill her. On the point of cruelty and harassment faced by her after marriage, the court said that no evidence was brought forth by the prosecution to prove the same.

“The prosecution has established that the accused has caused simple hurt to the complainant by means of a dangerous weapon like a sickle,” the court said on March 29, sentencing Barhate to three years in prison.