Mumbai: Husband gets 1-year jail, Rs 10,000 fine for abusing second wife

A city magistrate court on Thursday sentenced a 35-year-old man to a year of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs. 10,000 on him for abusing his wife while their relations were under strain and sending her obscene messages.

The court said that making allegations and uttering obscene and objectionable words about the character, dignity and self-respect of a woman is itself a moral and social wrong. Such kind of immoral gestures, approaches and conduct of a man toward a woman, especially when he is her husband, does not warrant leniency, it added. The man’s advocate had sought leniency for him claiming that he had not been convicted before in any case.

The court stated that it is pertinent to note that the offence is against a woman and the relationship between the accused and the complainant is that of husband and wife. “Said incident caused mental and emotional trauma and great hardship to the informant,” it stated. Magistrate SAR Sayed said the court is also concerned about the suffering and trauma caused to her and ordered the man to pay her a compensation of Rs. 10,000.

The woman is the second wife of the accused and the two had married with the consent of his first wife. The man resided with both wives. The victim had approached the DN Nagar police station with the complaint that her husband had sent her abusive and obscene messages making averments on her character. She had confronted him in person and he verbally abused her again with such allegations and also made averments about her mother’s character. The man had snatched her mobile and thrown it at her forehead, due to which she had sustained a bleeding injury. She had informed her mother about her ordeal. In court, her mother too had testified.

The man had claimed that no eyewitness had been examined. The court said regarding this, that the evidence of the informant is consistent throughout, inspires confidence and no corroboration is required.