Karnataka high court upholds conviction in abetment-to-suicide case based on prosecutor testimony
Bengaluru: The high court upheld the conviction and sentencing of a resident of Devanahalli taluk, noting that a conviction can be based on the testimony of a prosecutor alone unless there are compelling reasons for seeking corroboration.Justice HP Sandesh made this observation, while upholding a trial court's verdict in a case of one Murali, who was found guilty of abetment to suicide (Section 306 of IPC) and sentenced to five years in jail with a fine of Rs 3,000.The charges against him stated that during his stay in Channarayapatna for 18 months, he became intimate with the house owner's daughter, resulting in her pregnancy.
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To avoid marriage, he convinced her to kill herself and gave her a poisonous tablet, assuring her that he, too, would follow her in this suicide pact.Challenging the trial court's decision, Murali claimed that medical records show the victim was unconscious when taken to hospital and, that, she never regained consciousness to tell her sister and others present about what happened to her. He further claimed there is no material available before the trial court, such as DNA test, to show the victim was six months pregnant due to the relationship."The medical records clearly stated that the death was due to respiratory failure as a result of consumption of aluminium phosphate," he further contended.The additional state public prosecutor submitted that the second tablet given by the accused was traced after the victim revealed it when she regained consciousness, supporting the prosecution's case.The prosecutor added that a neighbour witnessed the accused visiting the victim's house before she consumed the tablet, connecting the accused's role in abetting the victim to take the extreme step.After reviewing the material on record, including the trial court's verdict, Justice Sandesh pointed out that the prosecution witnesses' evidence consistently showed the accused was responsible for the victim's pregnancy and that he stayed in her house, leading to her pregnancy.The recovery and disclosure statement of the victim that the accused gave her the tablet and she kept the remaining tablet in the kitchen, which was recovered, proves the prosecution's case, the judge noted."The tablet, which was recovered, and the material found in the victim's stomach are one and the same. When such linking evidence is available before the court, it is very clear that there is a proximity to the cause of the victim's death and the role played by the accused. Hence, I do not find any error committed by the trial court in convicting the accused for the offence punishable under Section 306 of IPC," the judge noted, while dismissing Murali's appeal.
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