‘Will send you to Andaman jail if you ill-treat wife’: Supreme Court warns man

NEW DELHI: Walking the extra mile to unite a couple estranged by domestic violence, the Supreme Court on Thursday was at its persuasive best to convince a fearful wife to join her husband while warning the man, despite an affidavit of good behaviour, that he would land in the most dangerous prison in India if she complained of ill-treatment.
Breaking away from the stereotype of allowing transfer of cases to the place of residence of the estranged wife, a bench of Justice Surya Kant and N K Singh spoke to the woman from Maharajganj in Uttar Pradesh in Hindi for more than 20 minutes assuring her of safety in her matrimonial home as she recounted how he had tormented her every day during the time they lived together.
"I do not want to live with him. He had attempted to burn me but was saved by a stroke of luck because of the intervention of others. If I go and live with him, and if he kills me, what can this court do? What will happen to my two minor children," she asked Justice Kant, who conversed with her.
The judge turned to the husband, who too was present in the courtroom, and warned him, "If ever we get a single complaint of ill-treatment from her, we will send you to Andaman Jail with a direction that no court would grant you bail. When you marry, you carry the responsibility of treating your wife with respect."
"Your (husband's) future depends on the good conduct certificate given by the wife. Your ACR is in her hand. If she gives you a bad ACR, you will face the music," Justice Kant said. The bench asked Patel Nagar police station in Delhi, in whose jurisdiction the husband lives, to depute a woman constable or a head constable to visit the couple's house daily in the evening and inquire about her well being.
"The concerned police officer will maintain a daily diary of the statements of the wife and submit it to the court after 15 days," the bench ordered to assure the woman of her safety.