The Supreme Court recently upheld the life imprisonment of a man from Rajasthan who had murdered his newlywed wife by setting her on fire after demanding that she cook for him [Shankar vs. State of Rajasthan].

A bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and NK Singh said that despite decades of legal reforms and economic advancement, patriarchy remains a daily reality in India where domestic abuse and violence against women persist as symptoms of a diseased social order.

"patriarchy still permeates the everyday... practices such as domestic abuse or even extreme acts like burning a wife persist not as aberrations, but as indications of a disease afflicted social order," the Court noted.

The judges lamented that the constitutional promises of equality and right to life remain elusive for many women, even nearly eight decades after independence.

The bench noted that while the country has seen rising literacy and economic growth, authority within households remains overwhelmingly male and societal norms still expect working women to manage all household chores.

"Gender Roles do not apply strictly anymore in many urban areas. One cannot assume that all house-hold related work falls to the woman, whereas it is only the male who is tasked with bread winning. Yet, in rural and semi-urban scenarios, patriarchy remains a facet of everyday life. Authority within the household is still overwhelmingly male, and women’s autonomy is often conditional and constrained. Even if the woman earns, it would still be expected of her that she would set the house right before leaving for work, and busily engage herself in similar work including preparation of meals, when she returns from work," it said.

The case stemmed from an incident from October 2012 in Rajasthan's Bundi. One Shankar had married the deceased Sugna Bai a month prior.

Due to his heavy drinking and violent behavior, she left for her parental home. Shankar followed her and demanded she return immediately to make fresh food for him.

When she returned and began preparing a meal, a drunk Shankar physically assaulted her. He then poured kerosene over her, locked the room and set her on fire. Neighbours and family members extinguished the fire and rushed her to the hospital, where she gave a dying declaration to a magistrate before succumbing to her burn injuries four days later.

A trial court in Bundi convicted Shankar of murder in 2014 and sentenced him to life imprisonment. The Rajasthan High Court upheld this conviction in 2019. Shankar then appealed to the Supreme Court.

Before the top court, Shankar’s counsel argued that the dying declaration should not be trusted. She claimed the magistrate did not properly certify Sugna's mental condition and alleged that her parents had tutored her before she gave the statement.

The Supreme Court rejected these arguments. The bench found that the duty doctor had properly examined and certified Sugna's fitness to make a statement. The judges also noted that while some eyewitnesses had turned hostile during the trial, the medical evidence of burn injuries completely corroborated the dying declaration.

The Court concluded that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and that Sugna's dying declaration remained reliable and trustworthy.

Before concluding the judgment, the Court added a detailed postscript analyzing the state of women's rights in India. The judges pointed out the continued prevalence of dowry deaths and cited data showing over 4.48 lakh crimes against women were recorded in 2023.

"After decades of laws, schemes, reforms, and judicial recognition of equality across workplaces, homes, personal relationships, and even the armed forces, why does the control over women’s bodies, choices, and lives still persist so deeply within society? Perhaps, the answer lies only with 'We, the People of India'," the bench said.

Shankar was represented by Senior Advocate Kavita Vadia along with advocates Tabrez Ahmad, Syed Mehdi Imam and Syeda Aaliya Fatima.

The State was represented by advocates Divynk Panwar and Nidhi Jaswal.

[Read Judgement]