Discovering husband's infidelity days after marriage can drive wife to suicide: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court recently observed that discovering a husband's infidelity shortly after marriage along with his ill behaviour can drive a woman to commit suicide..Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma observed that infidelity by a spouse can have profound and devastating effects on the mental and emotional well-being of a person.The judge added that this sense of shock can be overwhelming because a woman may have entered the marriage with trust and hope which can be shattered by the revelation of her husband’s extra-marital affair.“The emotional trauma of discovering infidelity and subsequent ill behaviour of a spouse can drive a woman to take extreme steps to the extent of committing suicide,” the Court said..Justice Sharma made the observation while denying bail to a man booked under Sections 498A (cruelty) and 306 (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for the death of his wife.The couple got married on May 18, 2022, and the woman committed suicide around May 30 or May 31, 2022, by hanging herself. The woman’s father filed the complaint alleging that the accused man had an extramarital affair. The woman's father blamed the accused for her death..After considering the bail petition, the Court concluded that there were specific allegations against the accused that he was having an extra-marital affair and that the deceased was undergoing tremendous stress and trauma on a daily basis.“This Court has also gone through the statement of mother of the deceased under Section 164 CrPC which also reveals that the applicant had beaten the deceased when she had objected to his extra marital affair. It is also noted that the deceased had committed suicide within just 13 days after marriage," the judge found..The Court, therefore, dismissed the bail plea..Advocate Amit Khanna appeared for the accused husband.Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) Manoj Pant appeared for the State. .[Read Order]