Kiran Kumar knew his wife Vismaya was thinking of taking her own life but he continued to harass her over dowry, and ultimately drove her to suicide, a Kollam court found, sentencing the 30-year-old former government employee to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment. Eleven months and three days after 22-year-old Vismaya’s death in June 2021, her husband Kiran Kumar was convicted by the court for dowry death, abetting her suicide and criminal intimidation. The Additional Sessions Judge Sujith KN also observed that Kiran’s unbearable harassment was what forced Vismaya to take her own life.
The court said that the prosecution — armed with audio conversations and text messages sent by Vismaya that cemented their case — has proven the charges against Kiran. The court also rejected Kiran's argument that Vismaya took her own life because she was depressed over not getting pregnant.
“The prosecution has proved with cogent evidence that the accused had perpetrated physical as well as mental cruelty on the victim in connection with the demand for dowry, soon before her death,” the court held in its 441-page order. “She was put to severe sorts of verbal and emotional cruelties that subsume insult, ridicule and humiliation. Always he kept her under tenterhooks. She was afraid of him. All nights were nightmares for her. She always prayed to keep the balance of the accused and feared its consequences once it was lost. The anger of the accused was revolving around the eagerness for dowry. No individual can survive with such an excessively emotional situation,” the court said. (sic)
The court also said that a wife was not a “chattel in the hands of the husband” but a person with her own dignity and individuality.
The judge observed that Vismaya had detailed the harassment and abuse by her husband to her mother, a friend, as well as her sister-in-law; the main ground for the abuse was that Kiran was not happy with the car that was given to him as dowry. The court noted that Kiran harped on the fact that he wanted a better car than the one he was given, and was unhappy with the mileage of the one that was given to him.
The court noted that shortly after the wedding, Kiran realised that he had received 80 sovereigns of gold instead of the promised 100 sovereigns. He ridiculed and berated Vismaya in front of his mother, and told her that her father had deceived him by giving him “a shoddy car and diminutive quantity of gold ornaments.”
The court noted that multiple witnesses had narrated that in January 2021, Kiran had verbally abused Vismaya’s family after he slapped her and attacked her brother. He shouted, “No one should feel comfort after burdening me with a ‘scrap car’ and a ‘waste female’,” while throwing a gold chain at Vismaya’s father and storming out.
The court noted that Kiran was aware of the consequences of legal action if Vismaya were to file for divorce, and to rule that out, he approached her on his birthday in 2021 and took her home. This was in March 2021. “The mischievous intention of the accused is so glaring,” the court observed and said that Kiran knew that his job might be in jeopardy if she filed a case against him.
After bringing her back home, Kiran banned her from talking to her father, brother, friend or sister-in-law, and the harassment reached new heights. He made her block them on social media, and would beat her if she was found talking to her family and friends. He deleted her contacts list, blocked her social media accounts and damaged her phone. Prosecution witnesses also deposed in court that they, too, had been abused by Kiran for talking to Vismaya. The court relied on depositions by Vismaya’s family and friends that Vismaya would try to contact them secretly but by the time of her death, none of them were in contact with Vismaya.
It was then, the court noted, that Vismaya began to get suicidal thoughts; she felt that there was no way out, and that she would not be able to have a bright future.
As Kiran’s harassment increased in the run-up to her death, Vismaya had told Kiran that her mental health was deteriorating and that she was getting suicidal thoughts, but Kiran continued to torture and harass her.
The court said in the order that Vismaya had told her childhood friend that Kiran would body-shame her and call her ‘Suppandi’ — a comic character from the Tinkle comics, portrayed as a village simpleton who often goofs up. The court noted that at times, Vismaya had expressed that Kiran would not sleep at night and “on such days, it will be so horrific to share the room with him.”
The court said Vismaya warned Kiran that she is unable to bear the atrocities unleashed by him and if it continues, the only option ahead of her is to die by suicide. “Despite such beseech, the accused didn’t abate his brutalities on her and he continued it in the same vigour as in the past,” the court said. Kiran had admitted during the trial that he knew about Vismaya’s mental health. “It can be then assumed,” the court said, “that Kiran knew his actions in those circumstances would drive Vismaya to suicide.”
Vismaya realised that this marriage couldn’t work but she began to blame herself for it, after sustained abuses from Kiran, the court observed. “Her father and brother were also not cordial to her (as Kiran had forced her to block contact with them). She had lost all the charms in life,” the court said. (sic)
The judge also, through the conversation between Vismaya and her family, observed that she was made to question her self-worth. He pointed out two occasions, one where she had asked her mother if she was a “valueless commodity” and on another, she had said that Kiran was treating her as a “sex toy.”
In another conversation with her mother in June 2021, Vismaya said that it would be difficult to continue living in her matrimonial home unless the assets promised as dowry were given to Kiran. “There, the mother is advising her that, suicide is not a right option and the difficulties in the life are to be faced,” the court noted, “The suicidal ideation that originated in the mind of Vismaya is glaring from this conversation when it went up to 11.40 minutes, in April 2021.
The court further observed that “among the factors to be taken note of are the “defenceless and unprotected state of victim.” The court then sentenced him to ten years of imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 12.55 lakh, of which Rs 2 lakh is to be handed over to Vismaya’s parents as compensation.
If you are aware of anyone facing mental health issues or feeling suicidal, please provide help. Here are some helpline numbers of suicide-prevention organisations that can offer emotional support to individuals and families.
Andhra Pradesh
Life Suicide Prevention: 78930 78930
Roshni: 9166202000, 9127848584
Karnataka
Sahai (24-hour): 080 65000111, 080 65000222
Kerala
Maithri: 0484 2540530
Chaithram: 0484 2361161
Both are 24-hour helpline numbers.
Tamil Nadu
State health department's suicide helpline: 104
Sneha Suicide Prevention Centre - 044-24640050 (listed as the sole suicide prevention helpline in Tamil Nadu)
Telangana
State government's suicide prevention (tollfree): 104
Roshni: 040 66202000, 6620200
SEVA: 09441778290, 040 27504682 (between 9 am and 7 pm
Aasara offers support to individuals and families during an emotional crisis, for those dealing with mental health issues and suicidal ideation, and to those undergoing trauma after the suicide of a loved one.
24x7 Helpline: 9820466726
Click here for working helplines across India.