MP HC upholds life term of ex-chemistry professor for murdering her doctor husband by electrocution
Jabalpur, July 30 (PTI): The Madhya Pradesh High Court has upheld the life imprisonment of former chemistry professor Mamta Pathak, who had argued her case using scientific knowledge, for murdering her doctor husband by electrocution in Chhatarpur district in 2021.
A division bench of Justices Vivek Agarwal and Devnarayan Mishra on Tuesday upheld the life imprisonment handed down by the Chhatarpur court.
Mamta's husband, Dr. Neeraj Pathak, died on April 29, 2021, at his house in Loknathpuram Colony with electric burn marks detected on his body.
He was posted in the Chhatarpur District Hospital.
The HC said the entire chain of circumstances indicates that the wife first made the husband unconscious by giving him sedatives and later killed him by electrocution.
The division bench, while cancelling the temporary suspension of the sentence earlier, directed the accused to immediately surrender in the trial court to serve the remainder of the imprisonment.
In April this year, the high court reserved its verdict after hearing the arguments of all the parties.
The prosecution said Mamta Pathak had come to live with her husband only 10 months before his death and was present in the house at the time of the incident.
According to the HC, no other person came from outside on the day of the incident, the prosecution said.
The relationship between the couple was strained as she would often argue about her husband's affair with a woman.
Before noon on the day of the incident, Dr Neeraj called one of his relatives, claiming that his wife was torturing him, not giving him food and kept him locked inside the bathroom. He also talked about the head injury.
After this, the relative contacted the police and the doctor was rescued from the bathroom.
The relative gave the recording of this conversation to the police and also recorded a statement in court.
A court in Chhatarpur convicted Mamta Pathak based on the circumstantial evidence and sentenced her to life imprisonment. But she filed an appeal in the high court against the verdict.
While presenting her case in the high court in April this year, the former chemistry professor argued that the cause of the death in the post-mortem report was stated to be electric shock.
The burn marks found on the body of the deceased were of both types - electric and thermal, but their technical investigation was not done, she told the court.
Safety equipment like MCB and RCCB were installed in the house, due to which death due to a short circuit or current was not possible. Despite this, neither the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team nor any electrical expert was sent to the house to investigate, she argued in the court.
During the initial hearing, she argued the case on her own, but later he lawyers presented her side in the court.
In its 97-page order, the division bench upheld her life imprisonment, saying the entire chain of circumstantial evidence was interconnected.
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No stubble burning now, why air pollution crisis in Delhi: Mann takes dig at BJP
Chandigarh (PTI): Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday slammed the BJP saying its leaders used to "defame" Punjab farmers over stubble burning and blame them for Delhi's poor air quality and questioned why is there pollution crisis in national capital despite no farm fires now.
Mann said that as soon as paddy harvest takes place, BJP leaders blame Punjab and its farmers for Delhi's poor air quality.
He said they used to claim that stubble burning by Punjab farmers causes Delhi's pollution.
Mann said at present, the Air Quality Index in major Punjab cities is between 70 and 130.
"At present, Delhi's AQI is between 450 and 500 and no smoke is coming from Punjab. But the situation in Delhi is worse. At least now they should agree that there is no role of Punjab for Delhi's poor air quality," Mann said in a video message.
Mann's remarks came on a day Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa apologised for the air pollution crisis in the national capital and acknowledged its impact on children's health.
Sirsa, however, asserted that it was the result of the policies pursued by the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi.
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Last month, the BJP had trashed the Punjab CM's previous claim that stubble burning in the state has no role in the high levels of air pollution in Delhi as "ridiculous".
Dismissing Mann's claim, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva had last month said it is certain that stubble burning is a "major" factor (for the air pollution in Delhi).
Meanwhile, Mann in his video message said, due to severe floods which Punjab witnessed this year, paddy harvesting got delayed, "despite this, many Delhi ministers had already started blaming Punjab".
"I want to praise Punjab farmers, NGOs and efforts of the Punjab government have also paid off in controlling stubble burning this time. The cases of stubble burning in Punjab have reduced by 70-80 per cent and this has been acknowledged by the Central Government and the Union Agriculture Minister," Mann said.
The CM further said that after paddy harvest even the wheat crop has been sown and now, there is no incident of stubble burning.
He said BJP leaders used to claim that Punjab's smoke from stubble travels to Delhi.
"Now, there is no stubble burning, but Delhi is facing very poor air quality. This proves that earlier too Punjab's smoke had no role for Delhi's poor air quality. Only accusations were made by the BJP to defame Punjab. At least now the Centre should praise the farmers of Punjab," he said.
"Meanwhile, Delhi's AQI is between 450 and 500, flights are being cancelled, and breathing has become difficult," said Mann.
He asked both the BJP government in Delhi and the BJP led Centre to address Delhi's air pollution, saying citizens cannot even venture out for a walk due to air pollution.
He also asked the BJP that Punjab should not be dragged into this political battle, instead, Punjab's farmers should be appreciated, and the Delhi and Central governments should focus on addressing Delhi's air pollution.
Mann further said that farmers of Punjab are 'anndatas' (food providers) and they meet the country's food needs, they should not be defamed.
