HC upholds acquittal of man accused of killing wife

The Bombay high court (HC) recently upheld the acquittal of a man, who was charged with killing his wife in Satara district in 1996, as the investigators failed

The Bombay high court (HC) recently upheld the acquittal of a man, who was charged with killing his wife in Satara district in 1996, as the investigators failed to establish if the deceased was indeed the woman who was reported missing by the accused.

HT Image

The court also noted that as the man had been using his real name while living in lodges while looking for his wife, the trial court, which had acquitted him, “had not erred in reaching the conclusion that he was innocent”. The judges noted that “as the ingredients of the five golden principles of circumstantial evidence were not established”, it wouldn’t interfere with trial court’s order.

A division bench of justices SS Shinde and VG Bisht — while hearing an appeal against the April 1999 acquittal of Sanjay Mugade by a trial court — was informed that Mugade had killed his wife, Sunita, as he suspected her of having an illicit relationship. The prosecution submitted that as per Sanjay’s confession, he had killed Sunita at Divshi ghat on December 16, 1996, and then thrown her body in a field. The prosecution claimed that though Mugade had confessed to the crime and circumstantial evidence pointed to his role, the trial court didn’t take cognisance of it.

However, Mugade’s counsel argued that when the body was found, it had started decomposing and there was no way to prove it was Sunita’s. Although Sunita’s mother and brother had identified the body as hers from the photograph taken by the police, the trial court had not relied upon their confirmation as the articles found on the body were commonplace.

The HC noted that as the prosecution had only relied upon circumstantial evidence and failed to prove Mugade’s guilt, the acquittal was valid. The judges said the prosecution had failed to follow the procedure of submitting evidence. The court held that as Mugade was living in lodges using his real name when the body was discovered, it showed he was searching for his wife. The judges said that this could mean that Sunita was then either dead or missing.