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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Police refused to file FIR in Baramati plane crash; our suspicion growing stronger, says Rohit Pawar
Mumbai (PTI): NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar on Wednesday claimed that the Mumbai police refused to file an FIR in connection with the plane crash, in which Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was killed, and said the refusal has deepened the suspicion surrounding the accident.
The government and the machinery appeared to be protecting someone, he alleged.
Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday directed the grounding of four aircraft of VSR Ventures, whose plane crashed at Baramati on January 28, killing Ajit Pawar and four others.
Following the crash of the Learjet 45 aircraft (VT-SSK), the aviation regulator had ordered a special safety audit of VSR Ventures, and the audit team observed several non-compliances of approved procedures in the area of airworthiness, air safety, and flight operations.
In a message posted on a social media platform, Rohit Pawar claimed, "While awaiting appropriate action regarding Ajitdada's plane crash, yesterday the DGCA report arrived stating that this accident was caused by the negligence of VSR company."
However, since no FIR has been filed in this regard, he along with party MLC Amol Mitkari, Idris Naikwadi and MLA Sandeep Kshirsagar, went to the Marine Drive police station in south Mumbai to demand registration of an FIR under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), he said.
He claimed that when the process to record his statement began, a senior police official refused to register the FIR and instead accepted their application merely as a formality.
"The conduct of the police has further intensified our suspicion regarding the plane crash. If even after demands by elected representatives from both the opposition and the ruling parties the police are discarding the demand to register an FIR, it is unfortunate for Maharashtra," Pawar, who represents the Karjat-Jamkhed assembly constituency in Ahilyanagar district, said in the post.
The government and the machinery appeared to be protecting someone, he alleged, and questioned whether Ajit Pawar would get justice if such a situation persisted.
The NCP (SP) legislator said they would not relent until the matter is taken to its logical conclusion.
He added that at 9 am on Thursday, all those who love his uncle Ajit Pawar would go to the Baramati taluka police station to press for registration of an FIR.
While the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is expected to come out with its preliminary report into the fatal crash before February 28, concerns have been raised in certain quarters claiming there could have been a conspiracy that led to the crash.
