Case Note & Summary
The Bombay High Court dismissed the criminal appeal against the conviction of the appellant under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. The case arose from the death of Sunita, the appellant's wife, who was found hanging in their residence on 24.05.2018. The prosecution alleged that the appellant strangled her due to marital discord over her giving birth to three daughters. A trial court convicted the appellant of murder but acquitted him of cruelty under Section 498-A. On appeal, the High Court analyzed the medical evidence, child witness testimony, and the chain of circumstantial evidence. The postmortem report by PW-6 Dr. Sandip Wadhve revealed ligature marks, petechiae, and abrasions, establishing asphyxia due to strangulation, not hanging. The child witness PW-3, the couple's daughter, testified that she saw her father catch her mother's neck, tie a cradle rope around it, bolt the door from outside, raise the television volume, and flee. The court found her testimony reliable after testing her competency and noting the absence of tutoring. Corroborating evidence from the landlady PW-4 and neighbor PW-5 confirmed that the room was bolted from outside and the appellant was seen fleeing. The court held that the prosecution successfully established a complete chain of circumstances: the appellant and deceased were last seen together, the room was bolted from outside, the medical evidence pointed to homicide, and no third person could have committed the act. The appellant's defense of accidental death was rejected as implausible. The appeal was dismissed, affirming the life imprisonment sentence.
Headnote
A) Criminal Law - Homicidal Death - Medical Evidence - Indian Penal Code, 1860, Section 302 - The court relied on postmortem findings of ligature marks, petechiae, abrasions, and expert opinion that death was due to asphyxia from strangulation, not hanging, to conclude homicidal death. The medical officer noted struggling marks and injuries characteristic of throttling and force application with a rope (Paras 11-13). B) Evidence - Child Witness - Competency and Reliability - Indian Evidence Act, 1872, Section 118 - The child witness (daughter of accused and deceased) was found competent after preliminary questioning by court and her testimony that accused caught mother's neck, tied a rope from a cradle, bolted the room from outside, raised TV volume, and fled was held credible. Denial of tutoring and consistency in cross-examination upheld (Paras 9-10). C) Criminal Law - Circumstantial Evidence - Complete Chain Test - Indian Penal Code, 1860, Section 302 - Prosecution proved that accused and deceased were alone in house, room was bolted from outside, accused fled, and medical evidence showed strangulation. No third person had opportunity, and the chain of circumstances excluded any reasonable hypothesis of innocence (Paras 10-11).
Issue of Consideration
Whether the death of the deceased was homicidal due to strangulation or accidental hanging; Whether the testimony of the child witness PW-3 was reliable and free from tutoring; Whether the circumstantial evidence established the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt.
Final Decision
The High Court dismissed the appeal, upholding the conviction of the appellant under Section 302 IPC and the sentence of rigorous imprisonment for life and fine. The court found that the prosecution proved the homicidal nature of death, the credibility of the child witness, and the complete chain of circumstantial evidence excluding any reasonable hypothesis of innocence.
Law Points
- circumstantial evidence must form a complete chain
- child witness testimony is admissible if found competent and not tutored
- medical evidence distinguishes strangulation from hanging
- last seen together theory shifts burden on accused under Section 106 Evidence Act
