Bombay High Court laments tragic trend: Domestic violence victims cling to failing marriages

The Bombay High Court during a hearing a case related to domestic violence, noted that women facing grave domestic violence often strive to remain in their marriages, even at great personal risk, which is actually a very sad reality  of Indian society.

As per the reports, Justice Madhav J Jamdar made these remarks while denying anticipatory bail to two individuals accused of subjecting their daughter-in-law to severe cruelty and dowry harassment.

The court rejected pre-arrest bail for one Anil Kisan Lokhande in its observation.

In its order, the court reportedly cautioned that the victim's persistence in trying to salvage her marriage despite enduring brutal harassment, abuses, assaults, burns, and life threats does not render the criminal complaint false or overstated.

It reportedly noted that in this case, despite grave harassment, abuses, assaults, burns, and serious threats to her life, the complainant sought to save her marriage.

Adding to this, the court observed that all this reflects a tragic reality in Indian society, where domestic violence victims, despite facing grave threats, are often enduring the marriage due to an orthodox environment that imposes severe social stigma on separation or divorce from the husband’s family, according to reports.

The First Information Report (FIR) was registered on December 5, 2025, at Vimantal Police Station in Pune. It leveled allegations of marital cruelty against the complainant's husband and in-laws.The complaint detailed that the marriage occurred on August 22, 2023. 

The complainant had reportedly alleged physical and mental torture, including forcing a miscarriage by administering pills during pregnancy, demanding unnatural sex under threats to publicise videos, and inappropriate touching by the father-in-law.