HC acquits man who 'criticised' wife for being dark

A man cannot be convicted on charges of instigating his wife to commit suicide just because he criticised her for being dark, ruled the Madras High Court here today.
Justice M Sathyanarayanan of Madurai bench, allowing a petition filed by Paramasivam against a lower court order, said "criticising the wife for being dark in colour does not amount to harassment or torture, and it cannot be said that the husband instigated the wife to commit suicide". The Judge acquitted him from the charges.
The petitioner Paramasivam's wife Sudha was found dead on September 12, 2001.
Tirunelveli district and sessions judge had convicted Paramsivam and sentenced him to seven years imprisonment on charges of instigating his wife to commit suicide. He was also sentenced to three years imprisonment under Dowry Harassment Act on October 27, 2006.

He fild an appeal against the conviction and sentence in the High Court.
The counsel for the petitioner submitted that describing the wife as "dark coloured" is not instigating her to commit suicide. Hence that could not be the ground for convicting a person.
He had asked money for starting a business and that was not harassment. The petitioner had a car and had asked money for repairing the car and doing business, and that too he had asked his wife to get back the money he had given to his father-in-law. This was not dowry harassment, the counsel said.