Rithanya Dowry Death Case: Madras High Court Seeks Comprehensive Postmortem Report, Criticizes Investigating Agency's 'Mechanical' Attitude

Justice M Nirmal Kumar said that the postmortem report was not complete and did not contain details about the physical abuse that was allegedly meted out to Rithanya, before her death.

“I'm not satisfied. You've taken a stand that it's not harassment. They're saying that it's not. Some sort of examination should have happened. It's not a normal case. You should've been cautious,” the court orally remarked.

The court also remarked that it had become an attitude for the investigating agencies to collect materials mechanically without actually using the manpower to investigate a case.

“It has become the attitude of the investigating agencies. They'll just collect everything routinely. No physical examination. You're not investigating it with manpower,” the court added.

The court was hearing bail petitions filed by the husband, father-in-law, and mother-in-law of 27-year-old Rithanya, who committed suicide earlier this month in Tiruppur, over alleged dowry harassment. Rithanya, who got married to Kavin Kumar two months ago, had allegedly complained to her parents that her husband and his family had been harassing her mentally and physically over dowry and other issues.

Following her death, and based on the voice recordings sent by her to her father before her death, the Cheyur police registered a case under Section 194(3) [Suicide by a woman within 7 years of marriage] BNSS. Following this, Rithanya's husband, Kavin, and his father Eswaramoorthy were arrested for offences under Section 85 [Husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty] and Section 108 [Abetment of Suicide] of the BNS.

Senior Advocate John Sathyan, appearing for the accused, denied the allegations of dowry harassment. It was submitted that the family did not need to make any demand for dowry, as both families were on equal financial status. It was further submitted that even during the time of marriage, they had not made any demands of dowry.

Senior Advocate Abudu Kumar, appearing for Rithanya's father, submitted that Rithanya was in a traumatic situation both verbally and physically after her marriage. It was submitted that he got to know the gravity of the situation only after receiving the voice notes from Rithanya. He argued that Rithanya, an educated girl, was forced to commit suicide in the present case and said that the accused should not be given bail as there was a possibility of destroying the evidence.

Government Advocate Santhosh informed the court that the mobile phones of Rithanya, her husband, and her father have been sent for a forensic examination and a detailed report was awaited. The court was also informed that relatives, classmates, and friends of Rithanya were being examined to find out if Rithanya was leading a normal life and whether amu behavioural change had affected their matrimonial life.

Considering all the submissions, the court adjourned the case by 2 weeks and posted it on 14^th August 2025.

Case Title: KE Kavin Kumar v. State

Case No: Crl OP 20949 of 2025