Chikkamagaluru, Dec 13: A 37-year-old man was arrested for allegedly poisoning his wife to death by mixing cyanide in her food in this district, police said on Wednesday.

Shweta (30) was married to Darshan for over seven years and the couple had a four-year-old son. Darshan is a lab technician and owns diagnostic centres in Bengaluru, they said.

The couple lived in Bengaluru and had come to their native village in Devarunda in Chikkamagaluru district three days ago. They shared a strained relationship ever since she discovered about his extra-marital affair which led to frequent quarrels between them, police said.

During interrogation, the accused confessed to having killed his wife by poisoning her food with cyanide, a senior police officer said.

Early on Monday, Darshan's brother informed Shweta's family about her death due to a heart attack. When her family reached Darshan's house, they found minor injury marks on Shweta's body and suspected that a quarrel between Darshan and Shweta on Sunday night might have led to her death, he said.

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The woman's family filed a complaint with the police alleging that their daughter was poisoned to death by her husband. They also shared the audio clip of Shweta in which she was heard requesting the other woman to not get involved with her husband, he added.

The post-mortem report of the deceased revealed the presence of poison in her intestine. The audio clip and autopsy report raised further suspicions on Darshan and during sustained questioning, he confessed to the investigators about killing his wife by mixing cyanide in her food, the officer said.

"A murder case was filed, and Darshan was apprehended on Tuesday evening. According to his admission, he added cyanide to her food. However, we are still awaiting the forensic experts' report to determine the specific chemical he used to cause her death," he added.

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New Delhi (PTI): The Bar Council of India on Wednesday sought the urgent intervention of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant following a "deeply disturbing" incident where a judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court reportedly sent a young advocate to

24-hour judicial custody over a procedural lapse.

The Bar Council of India (BCI) Chairperson and senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra, in a formal representation, termed the conduct of Justice Tarlada Rajasekhar Rao "grossly inappropriate" and "damaging to the confidence of the Bar".

“I most respectfully request your Lordship to kindly take immediate institutional cognizance of the matter and call for the video recording of the proceedings, the order passed, and the surrounding circumstances.

“I further request that appropriate administrative action may kindly be considered, including withdrawal of judicial work from the learned Judge pending review, his immediate transfer to some far off High Court, and his nomination for appropriate judicial training/orientation on court management, judicial temperament, Bar-Bench relations, and proportional exercise of contempt/judicial authority,” Mishra wrote.

This representation is made to preserve the “dignity, moral authority and public confidence of the judiciary”, he said, adding, “Judges command the highest respect not by fear, but by fairness, patience, restraint and constitutional humility”.

The communication urged the CJI to intervene at the earliest to ensure that the faith of Bar, particularly young advocates, in the protective and corrective role of the judiciary is restored.

The controversy stems from proceedings on May 5.

According to the BCI, a video circulating online shows Justice Rao rebuking a young advocate who was unable to produce a specific order copy during a hearing.

The letter said that despite the advocate "repeatedly seeking pardon and mercy" and claiming he was in physical pain, the judge remained "unmoved".

The judge allegedly told the lawyer, "now you will learn," and mocked his experience before directing the Registrar and police personnel to take him into custody for 24 hours.

The BCI chairperson said that the judge’s actions lacked proportionality and fairness.

"The dignity of the court is not enhanced when a lawyer is made to beg for grace in open court and is still sent to custody for a procedural lapse," the letter said.

"A young lawyer... is an officer of the Court, still learning, still growing, and entitled to correction without humiliation," it added.

The bar body said that such actions create a "chilling effect" on the legal fraternity, particularly among junior members, and undermine the mutual respect required between the Bench and the Bar.