Patna: The Patna High Court has overturned the conviction of a man in a nearly 45-year-old case involving the alleged murder and cremation of a married woman following a dowry dispute, ruling that the prosecution failed to establish that the death was in fact a murder.
A division bench of Justice Anil Kumar Sinha and Justice Alok Kumar delivered the judgment on August 10, acquitting Uttim Sah of all charges.
The court stressed that a married woman’s death at her matrimonial home, even when accompanied by allegations of dowry demands, cannot by itself justify a presumption of murder. The prosecution must establish the offence through reliable evidence.
Case Dates Back To 1981
The case originated with an FIR registered at Basopatti police station in Madhubani district in 1981.
The trial court convicted Uttim Sah in 1995 under Section 302 and Section 201 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and seven years’ rigorous imprisonment respectively.
The High Court found significant gaps in the prosecution’s evidence.
There were no eyewitnesses to the alleged incident. Of the 12 prosecution witnesses, only the complainant, Ramdev Sah, accused Uttim Sah of murdering his daughter. However, the complainant had not witnessed the incident.
Key Witnesses Did Not Support Prosecution
The complainant had said he received information about the incident from two people who were subsequently declared hostile by the prosecution.
Another person, Mahendra Sah, who could have been relevant to the case, was not examined as a witness.
The High Court observed that the failure of these individuals to support the prosecution, coupled with the non-examination of Mahendra Sah, weakened the basis of the account contained in the complainant’s statement.
Court Questions Absence Of Post-Mortem
The bench also highlighted the absence of a post-mortem examination, saying scientific evidence could have answered several important questions.
A post-mortem could potentially have established whether the burn injuries occurred before or after death, whether the woman had suffered physical assault and whether the death could have resulted from an accidental fire while cooking.
The court emphasised that criminal convictions must be based on evidence rather than conjecture.
The fact that a woman died at her matrimonial home, the court said, does not by itself establish that she was murdered, even where allegations of dowry demands have been made.
Investigating Officer Not Examined
The High Court also noted that the investigating officer was not examined as a prosecution witness.
As a result, important aspects of the investigation remained unclear, including the condition of the alleged crime scene, recoveries made during the investigation, previous statements of witnesses and the manner in which the investigation was conducted.
In light of the evidentiary gaps, the High Court set aside the trial court’s 1995 conviction and acquitted Uttim Sah of all charges.
