Wife’s ‘thousand husbands’ barb ‘grave provocation’ that led to her killing: HC cuts man’s life term
Madhya Pradesh High Court principal seat in Jabalpur. Photo: mphc.gov.in The Madhya Pradesh High Court has reduced the life sentence of a man accused of killing his pregnant wife to seven years jail term, noting that the assault was not “premeditated” but a “sudden and grave provocation” to her remark that she “can keep a thousand husbands” like him. In its verdict delivered on June 18, a Division Bench of Justices Vivek Agarwal and Avanindra Kumar Singh noted that the remark made by the woman was an indirect/oblique reference to the worthlessness of the husband, which signified that he has no value as a human being or a husband. According to the prosecution, Shiva Kahar, a resident of Chaurai block in Chhindwara, murdered his wife Kiran on September 18, 2021, when she was seven months pregnant. Kahar struck her on the head with a stone, resulting in her death. After the incident, he himself called his father-in-law and informed the police station about his wife’s murder, following which he was arrested, the prosecution said. The …
