The Madhya Pradesh High Court recently reduced the jail term of a man convicted of killing his pregnant wife after holding that the offence was committed under “grave and sudden provocation” when she allegedly told him that she could “keep a thousand husbands” like him [Shiva v. The State of Madhya Pradesh].

In an order passed on June 18, a Bench of Justices Vivek Agarwal and Avanindra Kumar Singh said that the remark amounted to an indirect attack on the husband’s worth and dignity and was sufficient to deprive him of self-control.

“Similarly, when a wife refers to her husband that ‘she can keep thousand husbands like him’ it is indirect/oblique reference to worthlessness of the husband, meaning he has no value as a human being or a husband. Therefore, it can be termed as a sudden and grave provocation,” the Court observed.

The case arose from the death of Kiran, who was killed on the night of July 18-19, 2021 near the Kulbaheri river in Chhindwara district.

According to the prosecution, the appellant (husband) Shiva himself called Kiran’s relatives and informed them that he had killed his wife by hitting her with a stone. When asked why he had done so, he allegedly said that Kiran had told him that she could “keep a thousand husbands” like him, following which he became enraged and assaulted her with a stone.

The prosecution also relied on Shiva’s calls to the police control room and other witnesses immediately after the incident, during which he admitted to killing his wife. Medical evidence showed that Kiran, who was around 7 months pregnant, died due to multiple injuries, including fractures to her ribs and sternum.

While upholding the conviction, the High Court found that the incident was not premeditated. It noted that Shiva used a stone lying nearby, immediately informed both the police and Kiran’s relatives about the incident and did not attempt to conceal the offence.

It also found that the evidence did not establish that Shiva repeatedly attacked Kiran with multiple stones. It noted that only one stone had been seized and sent for forensic examination, while some of the injuries could also have been caused by sharp-edged stones lying at the riverbank where the incident occurred.

In view of these findings, the Court partly allowed the appeal, altered the conviction to Section 304 Part II IPC and reduced Shiva's sentence to seven years’ rigorous imprisonment while maintaining the fine imposed by the trial court.

[Read Order]