Crime against women must be dealt with strictly: Court

A man, convicted for abetting suicide of his 26-year-old wife, has been sentenced to seven years in jail by a Delhi court which said crime against women must be "dealt with strictly".
Additional Sessions Judge Sandeep Yadav said convict Udai Narayan Yadav does not deserve a lenient view as any leniency in such cases would send a "very wrong message" to society.
Holding that the punishment must match the gravity of the offence in order to have a "deterrent effect", the court said he does not deserve a lesser sentence as he subjected his young wife to cruelty, compelling her to end her life.

"A young woman lost her life because of cruel treatment meted out to her by convict Udai Narayan Yadav. The crime committed by the convict is in fact a crime against a woman which must be dealt with strictly. Any leniency in such cases will send a very wrong message in society.
"The father and mother of deceased (woman) suffered immense pain and agony on account of untimely and unnatural death of their daughter and lesser sentence in this case will in fact be injustice to the parents of the deceased," the judge said.
The court passed the judgement in a case in which Udai's wife had ended her life in 2008 after being fed up of the cruel treatment meted out to her by him. A case was registered against Udai at Vasant Kunj Police Station here.

Udai was convicted under provisions of the Indian Penal Code for the offences of subjecting a woman to cruelty and abetment of suicide.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 2.20 lakh on Bihar native Udai, and said that out of the total amount, Rs two lakh be given to the woman's parents as compensation.
"Although, the loss suffered by the parents of deceased cannot be fully compensated but the interest of justice demands that convict must compensate the parents of deceased to mitigate their agony to some extent.
"Parents of deceased brought her up with great love and affection and spent huge amount of money on her education," the court said while noting that the woman had completed her education after marriage.

It also rejected the prayer of Udai, who had spent over two years in jail during trial, seeking leniency on the ground that he had remarried after getting bail and that he must be given a chance to reform.