SC acquits woman accused of killing her newborn child, says no conclusive proof against her
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court has acquitted a woman convicted by a trial court for killing her newborn child whom she had allegedly conceived following her physical relations with a co-villager, saying there was no conclusive proof to establish her guilt.
The top court said sentencing someone to life imprisonment requires due appreciation of evidence, and it cannot be done mechanically and in a perfunctory manner.
A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Sanjay Karol said thrusting upon a woman the guilt of having killed a child without any proper evidence, simply because she was living alone in a village, reinforces the cultural stereotypes and gendered identities.
"The right to privacy is inviolable. Unfortunately, the view taken and the language adopted by both the courts below lays to waste such a right inherent in the convict-appellant. It is apparent that the guilt has been placed on her without any solid foundation thereto since no relationship of any nature whatsoever could be established between her and the deceased child discovered in the dabri.
"The conclusion drawn is simply on the basis that the convict-appellant was a woman living alone and had been pregnant (as admitted in the statement under section 313, CrPC," the top court said.
It added that it is entirely within the realm of a woman's privacy to decide whether or not to bear a child or abort her pregnancy within the framework of law.
"It is a matter of record that none of the witnesses has seen the convict-appellant throwing the deceased child into the dabri. As hitherto observed, no conclusive proof, of any nature, of relationship had been put forth by the prosecution, no evidence has been led to cast doubt upon the version of the convict.
"The statement of the doctor is silent on the death of the deceased having occurred prior to or after birth, although in examination-in-chief, the doctor has deposed that the death of the deceased child was homicidal in nature. However, in the cross-examination, it is admitted that such a fact does not form part of the record, thereby calling into question the conclusion itself as it is a vital piece of
information that has been omitted," the apex court observed.
It said having considered the gaps in the prosecution's case, it cannot agree with the courts below that the circumstances conclusively point to the guilt of the convict.
"Given the foregoing discussion, we find the conviction recorded against the convict-appellant to be entirely based on mere presumption, with the actual evidence on record failing to establish the prosecution case much less beyond a reasonable doubt.
"We are constrained to observe that the high court has confirmed the view of the trial court awarding life imprisonment without supplying any cogent reasons," the bench said.
The top court was hearing a plea filed by the woman, challenging a 2010 order of the Chhattisgarh High Court that upheld her conviction and life sentence.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
