The Delhi High Court has said that the unnatural death of a young married woman demands prompt and diligent police investigation, expressing displeasure over an eight-month delay in the registration of an FIR by Delhi Police in a dowry death case.
In a judgment delivered on June 1 on an anticipatory bail plea filed by the accused, Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma made the observation while denying relief to the husband and in-laws in the case involving the death of a 25-year-old woman within six months of her marriage.
The judge remarked that the registration of the FIR in the case “took more time than the entire duration of her marriage” and termed it an “unfortunate reality” that the deceased’s father was made to “run from pillar to post” before the FIR was registered based on a judicial order.
In the case, the husband informed the deceased’s father on July 2, 2025, that his daughter had been hospitalised after she fell from the stairs. However, upon reaching the hospital, the father suspected foul play.
The court records state that the woman died by suicide. She succumbed on July 3, 2025, while the FIR was registered only on February 13, 2026, following the directions of a magisterial court.
“Yet another case of a young woman having lost her life within six months of marriage. In this Court’s view, once the deceased’s parents had raised suspicion against her husband and in-laws, the matter required a prompt and effective response from the investigating agency,” the court observed.
“This court hopes that, in future, applications seeking directions for registration of FIRs concerning the unnatural death of a young woman within a short period of marriage, particularly where allegations of dowry-related harassment are raised and the police fail to register an FIR, shall be taken up with greater urgency by courts and be listed on shorter dates so that the issue of registration of FIR and commencement of investigation is not left unresolved for months,” it added.
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Published – June 04, 2026 01:01 am IST
