Overview

• District Judge Rahul Choudhary said the murder fell into the 'rarest of the rare' category and called it 'a crime against humanity.'
• Lakshmi gave statements to police and medical staff saying her husband routinely taunted her for being 'dark skinned' and called her 'kali.'
• According to court statements, he applied a supposed skin-lightening liquid to her body and ignited her with an incense stick, then poured more of the liquid as she burned.
• The June 24, 2017 killing was prosecuted in Udaipur after the accused from Navaniya was charged; the order has been sent to the High Court for confirmation and the defense maintains the death was accidental.
• Prosecutor Dinesh Paliwal praised the ruling as 'historic,' as the case focuses attention on entrenched colourism and high rates of intimate-partner violence in India, including a BMJ estimate that one in three women face such abuse.