A Delhi court has awarded capital punishment to a man for killing his wife with the help of his mother and brother after she demanded that a piece of land be transferred in the name of her children. Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Dinesh Kumar Sharma said a message should be sent to society that the gallows await those who kill innocent women in such a brutal manner. I consider that courts,while delivering judgments and awarding punishments,are required to give a message to the society that the mentality of a certain class that a woman is not allowed to raise her voice is to be changed, the ASJ said. The court sentenced husband Surender Singh,his mother and brother Narendra on the basis of the eyewitness accounts of his three minor children,who had deposed before the court that their father,along with the uncle and grandmother,had killed their mother. Urmila was murdered on the intervening night of October 15 and 16,2007,in front of her three children when she demanded the transfer of a piece of land in their name. In a rage,her in-laws beat her up and strangulated her in front of her children. Noting that the case appeared to be an honour killing,the judge said: The motive was only that this helpless lady asked that a certain piece of land may be (kept) for the future safety of her children. This case also indicates the mentality of an honour killing,wherein a lady raises voice in the family,the family gets together and does away with her, the court said. Observing that the case came in the category of rarest of rare,the court said: It is the right time to stamp out these barbaric,feudal practices which are a slur on our nation. In such cases,the death penalty is necessary as a deterrent for such outrageous,uncivilised behaviour. A message should go to the society that if an innocent woman is killed in such a brutal manner,the gallows await them, the judge said. If a bride is killed in such a brutal manner by all the in-laws,together in furtherance of common intention,what could be more brutal or diabolic? .Here is a case where all the in-laws got together to finish the life of this lady without any provocation, the judge said,adding that it was not only the murder of a woman but also an assault on the dignity of womanhood.
