A Delhi court, acquitting the accused, said: “There is a very wide gap between what can be true and what should be true.” The fundamental principle of criminal jurisprudence is that the accused is considered innocent.
A New Delhi court has acquitted a man accused in a 12-year-old case of inciting his wife to commit suicide by demanding dowry. In delivering the verdict, the court said the prosecution had not presented concrete or convincing evidence to prove his guilt.
Satendra Gautam was accused of harassing and beating his wife Poonam for dowry, due to which she committed suicide by consuming poison in November 2011. The hearing of this case took place in the court of Additional Sessions Judge Sharad Gupta.
Considering the evidence presented before it, including the testimony of the deceased’s parents, the court said the prosecution could not prove that the woman was subjected to cruelty or harassed for dowry.
In a recent order, the court said, “This becomes even clearer when her family members were not even aware of the marriage between the deceased and the accused.” He noted the prosecution’s statement that a fight had taken place between the woman and the accused a day before her death.
However, the deceased’s friend Sneha, who had testified about the dispute, was not considered an excellent witness as she had changed her stance during the proceedings. The judge said: “There is nothing on record to show that the accused’s actions instigated the deceased Poonam to take her own life or that he conspired with others to ensure that the person committed suicide or that the accused died.” omission instigated the deceased as a result of which he committed suicide.’
During the hearing, the judge said: ‘Fights between husband and wife are a normal part of domestic disputes and are part of everyday life. It cannot be said that, in fighting with the deceased, the accused’s intention was to instigate him to suicide.
The court said that since the prosecution has absolutely failed to prove the guilt of the accused by presenting strong or convincing evidence, he should be acquitted. The court acquitted the man, saying: “There is a very wide gap between what can be true and what should be true.” The fundamental principle of criminal jurisprudence is that the accused is considered innocent.
Let us tell you that Najafgarh police station had registered an FIR against the person in February 2012.
