HC denies bail to man accused of shooting wife

The Delhi High Court has refused to grant bail to a man accused of attempting to kill his wife outside a hospital in the Capital in 2018, observing that offences of domestic violence of such nature, where the intent is to kill, must be treated with “utmost seriousness”.

“Offences of domestic violence of such nature where the intention is to kill are to be viewed with seriousness and the marital relationship in such cases would be treated as an aggravating and not a mitigating factor,” observed Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, in the judgment delivered on August 18.

The case arises from a November 2018 FIR, after the accused allegedly shot his wife for refusing to return to a “violent matrimonial home,” leaving her hospitalised for a month and undergoing four surgeries.

The court was hearing a bail plea filed by the accused, who faces trial in a case registered under Sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code, along with provisions of the Arms Act.

“Claim of or plea of being angry as a husband on refusal of wife to accompany him to the matrimonial home brings to surface the patriarchal entitlement that a person feels entitled to, which this court cannot support,” the court said.

According to the prosecution, the accused, on November 24, 2018, had waited outside the Lady Hardinge Kalawati Hospital, where the victim worked as a security guard. When she came out after her duty, he allegedly forced her towards an auto-rickshaw, pulled out a country-made pistol, and shot her in the abdomen before fleeing the scene.

The court recorded that the victim had chosen not to live with the accused due to his repeated violence, alcohol abuse, criminal activities, and the fact that he had contracted AIDS.

The accused argued that he fired only one shot, and it was a fit case for the grant of bail since the charges in the case have been framed and substantial evidence recorded.