New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday sentenced a man to life imprisonment for killing his wife over dowry, highlighting how parents’ anxiety to save their daughters’ marriage can lead many women into a death trap by sending them back to matrimonial homes despite complaints of torture.Amid the rising number of dowry cases, the apex court began its judgment by opening up a question for the society to ponder over. “Could young Soma Acharjee’s life have been saved? Was Soma thrown to the wolves because of fear of social humiliation?”. a bench of Justices PK Mishra and KV Vishwanathan asked.The court said Soma had repeatedly informed her parents about the abuse she faced, but was sent back when the elders attempted to mend her relationship with her husband.Describing the case as an eye-opener, Justice Vishwanathan, who wrote the judgment, said, “She made repeated appeals to her parents to save herself and even came to her parents’ house and stayed with them for a few days. However, every time she raised the issue, efforts were made to broker a reconciliation and send her back to the marital home.”The top court said village elders were involved and the resolutions were passed after an alleged compromise. It said, “Soma’s near and dear ones naively believed that somehow the situation would turn out for the better. A false sense of optimism engulfed them. Their hopes were betrayed when Soma met a tragic end in her marital home.”Rejecting the husband’s plea that Soma died by suicide after her body was found hanging 15 months after their marriage, the court said the medical and other evidence clearly pointed towards a murder related to dowry harassment.The evidence on record shows that Soma was harassed with demands for a motorcycle, TV and other items, even though her parents had accepted some of the demands.“The injuries found on the body of the deceased do not match a typical case of suicide by hanging,” the court said, adding that the injuries before the post-mortem were not self-inflicted. The bench said medical evidence indicated that Soma was subjected to violence before her death, ruling out the suicide theory and pointing to a case of “mock hanging”.