Bombay high court sets aside acquittal of man in 1998 case

The Bombay high court has set aside the acquittal of a man accused of pushing his wife to end her life in 1998 and have issued him notice to appear in HC for the

The Bombay high court has set aside the acquittal of a man accused of pushing his wife to end her life in 1998 and have issued him notice to appear in HC for the hearing on his sentence on September 6. The HC was hearing an appeal filed by the state against the acquittal of the husband by the trial court. The state submitted that though the woman had committed suicide due to the harassment by the mother-in-law, the husband was equally guilty for being silent and not supporting his wife.

The Bombay high court has set aside the acquittal of a man accused of pushing his wife to end her life in 1998 and have issued him notice to appear in HC for the hearing on his sentence on September 6.. (HT photo)

While hearing the appeal against the man’s acquittal and enhancement of punishment of the mother-in-law, the division bench of chief justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Bharati Dangre was informed that the woman had got married on May 8, 1998. She was harassed and asked to get Rs 2 lakh by the mother-in-law.

The woman complained about the harassment to her father when she went to her maternal home them but her parents convinced her to be patient and asked her to go back. The woman also complained of harassment by her husband that he was not supporting her even when his mother kept harassing her. The woman took the extreme step by consuming Dunet methanol on November 4, 1998 and succumbed on November 11, 1998. The father of the woman lodged a complaint on the same day. The husband, mother-in-law, sister-in-law and others were booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and tried.

The trial court while sentencing the mother-in-law to four years rigorous imprisonment, acquitted the husband and other accused, hence the state filed an appeal against the acquittal.

After hearing the submissions the bench observed “We have perused the judgment of the trial court and note that the Sessions Judge has grossly erred in not considering the evidence brought on record as against A-1 Dinesh, husband of the deceased, who was also party to the ill-treatment inflicted to the deceased.”

The bench further observed that the extreme step taken by the woman was due to the “brutality and bestiality inflicted by the mother-in-law and the silence of the husband and his participation along with the mother-in-law subjecting her to physical and mental torture”. In light of these observations the bench while confirming the sentence of the mother-in-law, set aside the acquittal of the husband and asked him to be present in court for hearing on his sentence on September 6.