New Delhi, Oct 21 (PTI) A Delhi court has convicted a man for murdering his wife in 2020, holding that circumstantial evidence including the medical findings shows his presence in the room and his failure to explain the death formed a complete chain pointing to his guilt even though the key witnesses turned hostile.
Additional Sessions Judge Samar Vishal held Fazruddin alias Nanwa guilty under IPC Section 302 (murder) in a case registered at the Neb Sarai police station.
In an order dated October 13, the court said, “The proved circumstances exclude a reasonable hypothesis consistent with his innocence and establish his guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The post-mortem opinion establishes that Shamina died of asphyxia due to ante-mortem strangulation.”
According to the prosecution, Fazruddin strangled his wife Shamina on February 4, 2020, at the Sangam Vihar house of her sister, where the couple had been staying for about a week while she underwent treatment for kidney stones.
The case initially rested on an eyewitness account. The complainant, Mohammad Tahir, the deceased’s brother-in-law, had told police that he saw the accused sitting over Shamina and pressing her neck.
During the trial, however, Tahir denied making the statement. Shamina’s sister, her brother, nephews and niece also recanted their earlier statements to the police.
“The deliberate compression of Shamina’s neck, resulting in injuries sufficient to cause death in the ordinary course of nature, establishes the requisite intention for murder,” the judge said.
The court relied on several circumstances. The post-mortem report said Shamina died of asphyxia due to ante-mortem strangulation. The doctor who conducted the autopsy testified that injuries on her neck were suggestive of manual throttling.
“The DNA profile obtained from the shirt seized from him was similar to the profile obtained from Shamina’s blood. These circumstances called for an account from the accused of his movements and of any contact with Shamina during that period,” the judge said.
Invoking Section 106 of the Evidence Act, which places the burden of proving facts especially within a person’s knowledge on that person, the judge said a husband in whose presence his wife dies of strangulation inside the home must offer a plausible explanation.
The judge acknowledged that other family members were in the house and the accused did not have exclusive access to the victim. However, considered cumulatively, the proved circumstances “exclude a reasonable hypothesis consistent with his innocence,” the court held.
It added that deliberate compression of the neck, causing injuries sufficient to cause death in the ordinary course of nature, established the intention required for murder.
The defence had argued that no one saw the assault, no motive was proved and the accused had cared for his wife during her treatment, with several witnesses describing the couple’s relationship as cordial.
Considering all the facts, the court convicted him on charges of murder. PTI SKM SKM KSS
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