Vismaya Dowry Death Case: Supreme Court suspends sentence of husband
24-year-old Vismaya, a medical student was found hanging in her husband’s house in 2021.;
The Supreme Court of India has suspended the ten-year sentence given to Kiran Kumar, who was convicted in the dowry death case of his wife, Vismaya.
A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Justice K Vinod Chandran has suspended the prison sentence and granted bail to Kumar, who was convicted of abetment to suicide and dowry death provisions under the Indian Penal Code.
In April this year, the Supreme Court’s bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Rajesh Bindal had issued notice on the SLP filed by Kumar. Kumar had approached the court through an SLP after the Kerala High Court in September 2024 had refused his petition to suspend his sentence, observing that the seriousness of the offence and its social impact did not warrant any relief.
Kollam Additional Sessions Court had found him guilty and sentenced him to 10 years in jail. Vismaya, 24 at the time, was discovered hanging in the bathroom of Kumar’s house on June 21, 2021, shortly after their marriage in May 2020.
Complaints were made by Vismaya’s parents and brother, who alleged that her husband had tortured and harassed her over dowry demands. She also had sent images of bruises and injuries sustained by her through WhatsApp, claiming that she was being harassed by her husband for dowry.
Case Title: KIRAN KUMAR S. vs. THE STATE OF KERALA & ORS.