Woman, paramour get life sentence for killing husband

Thane, January 5

A Thane court has awarded life imprisonment to a 29-year-old woman who worked at a bar and her paramour for killing her husband in 2017.

In his order issued on Monday, Additional Sessions Judge R R Vaishnav relied on the statement of the deceased’s six-year-old daughter, who had seen her mother and the latter’s paramour commit the crime and medical report in the case.

The judge pronounced the woman and her 35-year-old paramour guilty under Indian Penal Code Sections 302 (murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of the offence, or giving false information to screen offender) and also imposed a fine of Rs 6,000 on each of them.

Another accused in the case was given the benefit of doubt and acquitted by the court.

Additional Public Prosecutor Ujjwala Moholkar told the court that on the intervening night of October 13-14, 2017, the 30-year-old victim was found hanging from the ceiling of his house in Kalwa town of Maharashtra’s Thane district.

A probe into the case revealed the victim did not like his wife working in a bar and they used to have frequent fights over the issue.

Hence, the woman along with her paramour and his friend hatched a conspiracy and killed her husband. They then hung the body from the ceiling. The woman stayed at home while her paramour and his friend fled.

Later, the woman informed police that her husband had committed suicide, the prosecution told the court.

The couple’s minor daughter had witnessed the crime and she gave her statement to police about the murder and hanging. She also maintained her statement in court.

The defence counsel argued that though the incident spot is located in a crowded area, the prosecution did not examine any independent witness, neighbour or landlord of the deceased, and the evidence of the child witness cannot be relied upon.

But, the judge referred to provisions of the Indian Evidence Act and said no particular number of witnesses shall, in any case, be required for the proof of any fact. “The evidence is to be weighed and not counted,” he observed.

“The testimony of a single witness is sufficient to establish any fact if it inspires confidence,” he said.

So far as non-examination of independent witness is concerned, one has to consider the mentality of society.

Generally, no one wants to get involved in a matter pertaining to others, the judge noted.

The accused cannot take advantage of non-examination of such independent witness, he said in the order. PTI