Vismaya Case: Kerala Court Convicts Husband For Dowry Death, Abetting Suicide

A Kerala court today convicted the husband of Vismaya, an Ayurveda medical student who hanged herself in her marital home in June last year, for dowry death and abetting her suicide.

Additional District and Sessions Judge-1 Sujith K N also convicted the husband for the offence of dowry related harassment under the IPC and various provisions of the Dowry Prohibition Act, Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) G Mohanraj told reporters outside the court.

The SPP said that the Court is expected to pronounce the sentence on Tuesday after hearing arguments on behalf of the prosecution and the convict. He said that the prosecution would be seeking the maximum possible punishment for the convict, S Kiran Kumar.

The offence of dowry death under section 304B of IPC carries a minimum sentence of seven years and a maximum of life imprisonment.

The offences of dowry harassment under Section 498A of IPC and abetment to suicide under Section 306 of IPC carry a maximum punishment of three years and 10 years jail term, respectively.

Vismaya's father spoke to reporters outside the Court and said that his daughter has got justice. He said he did not have words to express his gratitude for the efforts of the prosecution and the investigating team.

Prior to leaving for the Court, he had told reporters at his residence that the government appointed a very good investigating team to probe the case and a very good prosecutor.

Just before the verdict was delivered, state Transport Minister Antony Raju told reporters that irrespective of the Court's decision in the criminal case, there will be no change in the state government's decision to dismiss Kumar from service. Kumar was an assistant motor vehicle inspector.

The Court had on May 17 reserved its verdict in the case. Kerala Police in its 500-page charge sheet had said that Vismaya committed suicide due to dowry harassment.

Vismaya, 22, was found dead in the house of her husband at Sasthamkotta in Kollam district on June 21, 2021. A day before the incident, Vismaya had sent WhatsApp messages to her relatives over the alleged harassment by Kumar over dowry, as well as photos of wounds and marks of beatings on her body.

Her father had told a TV channel that 100 sovereigns of gold (one sovereign is equal to 8 grams gold) and over one acre land, besides a car worth Rs 10 lakh was given as dowry to Kumar during the wedding in 2020. But Kumar did not like the car and wanted Rs 10 lakh in cash. As he was told it was not possible, he used to torture her, the father had said.

With PTI inputs