New Delhi: Being a commando and having served during Operation Sindoor does not exempt a person from serving a sentence for his role in the dowry death of his wife, the Supreme Court held on Tuesday.
The bench of Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice Vinod Chandran ordered Baljinder Singh, a soldier in the Rashtriya Rifles, to surrender within two weeks as per an order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The Supreme Court will hear his appeal though.
In July 2004, Singh was convicted by a trial court in Amritsar under Section 304-B of the IPC for the death of his wife within two years of marriage. According to the prosecution, the deceased was subjected to harassment and cruelty in her matrimonial home for dowry.
He appealed against his conviction in the High Court and his sentence was suspended during pendency of proceedings, after he had undergone more than three years of imprisonment.
About 20 years later, in May 2025, the High Court dismissed his appeal and upheld the conviction and sentence of ten years’ rigorous imprisonment. The High Court ordered him to surrender.
Singh moved an appeal in the Supreme Court and prayer for exemption from the surrender. His counsel submitted that Singh had served as a Black Cat Commando and is posted with the Rashtriya Rifles for 20 years now.
Singh also served in Operation Sindoor, the lawyer submitted.
“That doesn’t give you immunity from being punished for committing an atrocity at home. This just goes to show how physically fit you are, and the manner in which only you could have killed your wife by strangulating her,” the Court held.
“This is not a case for exemption. It’s a gruesome matter, the manner in which you strangulated your wife. Exemption is for when the sentence is of 6 months, 3 months, 1 year,” Justice Bhuyan observed.
The counsel argued that the only allegation was the demand for a motorcycle and that this was based on statements of two witnesses who were closely related to the deceased.
“I can demonstrate, they are highly discrepant,” he submitted.
Justice Bhuyan then observed: “We can issue notice on the SLP but don’t ask us for exemption.”
“We decline the prayer for exemption from surrendering. Issue notice on the SLP returnable in 6 weeks,” the Court ordered.
