4 minutes of readingBombayJanuary 29, 2026 01:04 am IST
The Bombay High Court has rejected anticipatory bail for a father-in-law and mother-in-law allegedly linked to a ruling party and booked by the Pune police for cruelty and assault on their daughter-in-law and threatening her life.
The court observed that the petitioners are “very influential persons” associated with a ruling political party and no case was filed seeking pre-arrest bail.
The court last week observed that it was a “sad reality of Indian society, where many victims of domestic violence, despite facing serious threats to their lives, continue the marital relationship.” The HC added that “due to the orthodox atmosphere, they face social stigma if they separate from their husband’s family or get divorced.”
On January 21, a single bench of Justice Madhav J. Jamdar passed an order on a pre-arrest bail plea filed by the father-in-law and mother-in-law of the victim accused of offenses of cruelty against daughter-in-law and other provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The daughter-in-law in her complaint stated that although it was decided that her relatives would give 30 tolas (300 grams) of gold, at the time of marriage, the plaintiffs demanded 100 tolas (1000 grams) of gold and a Mercedes G-Wagon car as dowry.
Senior advocate Girish Kulkarni, appointed as amicus curiae to represent the interests of the petitioners, argued that his custody was sought only to record statements to ascertain the veracity of the allegations and recover gold, silver ornaments, a pistol and a Toyota Fortuner car. Kulkarni said the vehicle was handed over with the police and the gun, leaving little to recover.
He added that apart from vague mentions of 55 tolas of gold, 2 kg of silver, idols and gadgets in the FIR, there was no specific classification of ornaments that could be recovered from them. Kulkarni argued that the investigation could continue without custody.
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Senior advocate Rajiv Chavan, appearing for the petitioners, said the accused had joined the investigation, offered their full cooperation and would not abscond and therefore should be granted bail before arrest.
On the other hand, lawyer Surbhi Agrawal, appearing for the complainant daughter-in-law, said she had been staying with her parents and brother (who came to her rescue when the petitioners had allegedly locked her in a room) since she was “mercilessly assaulted” in June 2025. Agrawal said the petitioner’s father-in-law, a director of a sugar factory, was a politician close to the ruling party and deputy chief minister. Agrawal claimed that the complainant had misused a gun to threaten her and that a custodial investigation was required.
The court noted that “despite facing grave and serious harassment, abuse, assault and even burns as well as serious threat to life, the plaintiff wanted to save her marriage” and the same was the “sad reality of the Indian society”. Therefore, the court added that “in no way” his conduct suggested a false FIR.
Justice Jamdar also noted that the investigation documents prepared by Additional Public Prosecutor RV Newton for Pune The police “clearly show that there is material on record to support the allegations made in the FIR.”
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“He (the applicant) belongs to Shiv Sena – Eknath Shinde Group and is now likely to contest the NCP’s Zilla Parishad election – Ajit Pawar Group. Both political parties are part of the ruling party in the state of Maharashtra. “In any case, the recorded position clearly shows that the applicants are very influential people,” the court noted.
He added that “the position on record shows that they have not been arrested despite lodging the FIR and despite rejection of their anticipatory bail,” hence no case was made for granting pre-arrest bail and the plea was rejected.
