Chhattisgarh HC Acquits Man Convicted of Wife’s Murder Over Procedural Lapses

Raipur: A 30-year-old man, convicted of murdering his wife by the trial court, has been acquitted by the Chhattisgarh high court on the ground of procedural lapses.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Bibhu Datta Guru, while delivering their verdict in the case, noted the absence of mandatory medical certificate confirming the victim’s mental fitness during her dying declaration in the presentation of the case by the prosecution and said that such a lacuna must benefit the accused.

Relying solely on the dying declaration is unsafe because the treating doctor did not certify the victim’s mental fitness at the time it was recorded, the court observed.

The bench directed the chief secretary and director general of police of Chhattisgarh to issue instructions to all authorities and investigating agencies to avoid such procedural lapses, which could lead to unwarranted acquittal due to lack of credible evidence.

In its order, the court further said that the magistrates, medical officers, and investigating officers across the state must ensure that the dying declaration should accompany the process of certification by the treating doctor about the mental fitness of the victim at the time.

The case relates to the murder of a woman by her husband by setting her on fire in Barhi village in Balod district in Chhattisgarh on April 24, 2019.

The woman who suffered 80 percent burns died in a hospital in Raipur on May five, 2019.

The accused was sentenced to life imprisonment by the trial court in June, 2022 primarily based on the victim’s dying declaration recorded by a Naib Tahsildar.