'Dowry death, an affront to collective conscience of society,' SC cancels bail to husband

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has cancelled the bail granted to a man in a case of dowry death of his wife, saying judicial passivity or misplaced leniency in such cases would only embolden perpetrators and undermine public confidence in the administration of justice.

Holding that dowry death is not merely an offence against an individual but a crime against society at large, a bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and R Mahadevan said, in recent times, this pious bond of marriage has regrettably been reduced to a mere commercial transaction. 

"The evil of dowry, though often sought to be camouflaged as gifts or voluntary offerings, has in reality become a means to display social status and to satiate material greed," the bench said.

The court said the social evil of dowry not only corrodes the sanctity of marriage but also perpetuates systemic oppression and subjugation of women. 

"When such demands transgress the bounds of reason and culminate in cruelty – or worse, in the untimely death of a young bride – the offence transcends the private sphere of the family and assumes the character of a grave social crime. It ceases to remain a mere personal tragedy and becomes an affront to the collective conscience of society,'' the bench said.  

The court allowed an appeal filed by Yogendra Pal Singh, the father of the bride against the Allahabad High Court's order of January 9, 2025, which granted bail to the husband Raghvendra Singh alias Prince in the case of death of his daughter on June 5, 2023 within four months of marriage. It was alleged the accused forcibly administered her "smelly substance" due to dowry demand of a Fortuner car, even though her family spent approximately Rs 22 lakhs in cash, gave articles worth Rs 10 lakhs and jewellery worth Rs 15 lakhs in marriage.

The bench said, a firm and deterrent judicial response is imperative, not only to uphold the majesty of law and do justice in the present case, but also to send an unequivocal message that neither law nor society will countenance barbarities born out of the evil of dowry.

In a 28-page judgment on November 28, 2025, Justice Mahadevan wrote for the bench, "The phenomenon of dowry deaths represents one of the most abhorrent manifestations of this social malaise, where the life of a young woman is extinguished within her matrimonial home – not for any fault of her own, but solely to satisfy the insatiable greed of others."

Such heinous offences strike at the very root of human dignity and violate the constitutional guarantees of equality and life with dignity under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India. They corrode the moral fibre of the community, normalize violence against women, and erode the foundations of a civilized society, he added.

In the case, the court found, the High Court erroneously granted bail to the accused and invoked Article 21 of the Constitution, holding that bail is the rule and jail is the exception, and noted that there was no material to suggest that the accused was likely to abscond or tamper with witnesses.  

The court held, the High Court failed to take the statutory presumption into account, and instead relied solely on general bail principles. It cancelled the bail and directed the accused to surrender forthwith.