IMPORTANT POINT
It is totally unnatural for a mother to kill her own new-born baby.

JUDGMENT :

R. SUBHASH REDDY, J.

1. This criminal appeal is filed by the sole accused, aggrieved by the judgment dated 12th March 2010 passed in Criminal Appeal No.168 of 2010 by the High Court of Delhi at New Delhi, by which the appellant herein was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the offence punishable under Section 302, IPC.

2. The appellant herein was admitted in the maternity ward of the Lady Hardinge Medical College Hospital and delivered a baby girl around 12:30 in the afternoon on 24th August 2007. It is the case of the prosecution that as the new born was a baby girl, as such the appellant-mother has caused her death by strangulation after baby was handed over to her at 04:30 p.m. on the said date. On 26th August 2007 post-mortem was conducted on the dead body and the doctor opined that cause of death was asphyxia due to ante mortem strangulation. On 31st August 2007 a case was registered against the appellant for the offence under Section 302 IPC, for causing death of her new born baby. She was tried for the charge under Section 302 IPC by the court of Additional Sessions Judge, Fast Track Court, New Delhi. In her statement, she has not pleaded guilty and claimed trial, as such, she was tried in Sessions Case No.78 of 2009 by the Additional Sessions Judge, New Delhi. To prove the charge against the appellant, prosecution in all, has examined 23 witnesses. The evidence against the accused was put to her and her statement was recorded under Section 313, Cr.P.C. she has pleaded her innocence and deposed that she has been falsely implicated by the police in connivance with the hospital authorities, to shift the blame from doctors on duty.

3. The trial court, by judgment dated 19.12.2009, by recording a finding that prosecution has been able to prove complete chain of circumstances and proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, has held the appellant- accused is guilty for the commission of offence under Section 302 IPC and by order dated 22.12.2009 imposed the sentence of imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs.2000/-.

4. As against the conviction recorded and sentence imposed the appellant carried the matter in appeal to the High Court and the High Court by the impugned judgment, confirmed the conviction and sentence imposed on the appellant.

5. We have heard Ms. Mahalakshmi Pavani, learned senior counsel appearing for the appellant and Mr. Anmol Chandan, learned counsel appearing for the State of Delhi.

6. It is contended by learned senior counsel appearing for the appellant that there are no eye witnesses to the incident, and the incident is said to have happened in the ward of the hospital, where the delivery took place. The conviction is based solely on circumstantial evidence and the chain of circumstances is not complete. It is submitted that the appellant had no reason to commit the murder of her new born baby girl as she already had a male child and her parents in-law had died even before she was married. By referring to the oral evidence of PW-8 and PW-9, it is submitted that even according to the deposition of said witnesses it is clearly established that the new born was kept in the incubator with an oxygen mask. Further the appellant-mother was sleepy in view of the drugs administered on her and by the time she has seen the child, the new born was dead. It is submitted that the trial court as well as the High Court has committed error in convicting the appellant in absence of proving chain of circumstances, leading to her conviction. It is also brought to the notice of this Court that though incident occurred on 24th August 2007 post-mortem was conducted on the body only on 26th August and further, crime was registered on 27th August 2007. It is submitted, if the totality of evidence is taken into consideration, the guilt of the accused-appellant is not proved beyond reasonable doubt and the judgments of the High Court as well as the trial court are based on surmises and conjectures.

7. On the ot