When the offence is not distinctly proved against a relative, a friend, a servant, or a wife, he who thinks long before inflicting the punishment, is praised.
बन्धूनां सुहृदां चैव भृत्यानां स्त्रीजनस्य च। अव्यक्तेष्वपराधेषु चिरकारी प्रशस्यते॥