‘Unfortunate people still prefer male child,’ says Bombay HC, refuses bail to man who killed granddaughter
The Bombay High Court denied bail to a man accused of drowning his infant granddaughter, citing the family's preference for a male child as the motive. The judge expressed deep concern that gender-based discrimination and violence against girl children persist decades after India's independence.
Why it matters
The case highlights the ongoing struggle against deep-seated cultural prejudices and gender-based violence in modern India.
The Bombay High Court has refused bail to a man arrested for killing his one-month-old granddaughter as the family did not want another girl child, noting it was unfortunate that almost 80 years since Independence, people still prefer a boy.
Justice M M Nerlikar of the HC's Nagpur Bench, in an order passed on September 9, 2026, rejected the bail plea of the accused, Gopinath Janku Pradhan.
The case against Pradhan was lodged in 2023 by the police in Gadchiroli district in eastern Maharashtra under the charges of murder and destruction of evidence. He was accused of drowning his one-month-old granddaughter in a tub as she was the second girl child born to his son and daughter-in-law.
Pradhan, in his bail plea, claimed innocence and pointed out that the mother of the deceased child, who was also an accused in the case, has already been granted bail.
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