SC Denies Bail: Husband's Actions Towards Wife 'Animal-like', Court Says

The Supreme Court denied anticipatory bail to a man accused of domestic violence, stating a husband cannot treat his wife like an animal and that she deserves dignity. The bench, comprising Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice PB Varale, was hearing the case after the Patna High Court had already denied bail. The accused allegedly abused his first wife, the complainant, in a drunken state by throwing her to the ground, hitting her with a brick and a lathi. It is also alleged he married two other women, though he disputes the marriage to the complainant.

The High Court denied bail after considering the prosecution's submissions that the accused contracted three marriages and did not provide expenses to the first wife after assaulting her. When the Supreme Court took up the case, Justice Varale remarked there is no reason why the wife is being treated like an animal. Justice Kumar added that the accused cannot be granted bail considering the serious allegations. He questioned why the accused wants to hit his wife and advised him to seek regular bail, noting the wife will also leave if he continues hitting her.

Justice Kumar shared an anecdote from a legal aid experiment on such cases. They found every Saturday, two simultaneous cases were filed in different police stations. In one station, the wife was always the complainant, and in another, the husband was always the complainant. The wife's grievance was that on Saturdays, the husband used weekly wages to drink and hit her. In the reverse case, the wife hit the husband, saying she has no problem with drinking but he should not touch her. The case details are Umesh Ray vs The State of Bihar, SLP(Crl) No. 8342/2026.