New Delhi, Nov. 29 -- The Supreme Court on Friday delivered a scathing denunciation of dowry-related cruelty, lamenting that the "pious bond of marriage has regrettably been reduced to a mere commercial transaction" and warning that the evil of dowry corrodes the sanctity of marriage while perpetuating systemic oppression and subjugation of women. Coming down heavily on dowry demands and deaths, a bench of justices BV Nagarathna and R Mahadevan stressed that a "firm and deterrent judicial response" is imperative to send an unequivocal message that neither law nor society will tolerate such barbarities. The bench cancelled the bail granted by the Allahabad high court to a man accused of the dowry death of his wife in Uttar Pradesh's Fatehpur district and ordered his immediate arrest. "Marriage, in its true essence, is a sacred and noble institution founded on mutual trust, companionship and respect. However, in recent times, this pious bond has regrettably been reduced to a mere commercial transaction, the social evil of dowry.has in reality become a means to display social status and satiate material greed," said the court in its judgment, adding that dowry-driven cruelty or deaths are "an affront to the collective conscience of society." "Judicial passivity or misplaced leniency in the face of such atrocities would only embolden perpetrators. A firm and deterrent judicial response is imperative," the judgment stated. The bench cited the alarming rise in dowry death cases and emphasised strict scrutiny in bail matters under Sections 304B (dowry death) and 498A (cruelty) of the Indian Penal Code, read with Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act....