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2020 Supreme(SC) 665

SANJAY KISHAN KAUL, HRISHIKESH ROY
Jayantilal Verma – Appellant
Versus
State of M. P. (Now Chhattisgarh) – Respondent


Advocates Appeared:
For the Appellant(s) :Satish Pandey, Salim Ansari, Mahesh Pandey, Ninanda Nair, Abdul Qadir, Geeta Verma, Advocates
For the Respondent(s):Nishanth Patil, Advocates

Judgement Key Points

Certainly. Based on the provided legal document, here are the key points:

  • The case involves the prosecution of an accused husband for the murder of his wife, which was determined to be homicidal due to asphyxia caused by strangulation (!) (!) .
  • The evidence primarily relied upon circumstantial evidence, including the location of the body within the house, the absence of signs of external entry, and the failure of the accused to provide a plausible explanation for the cause of death (!) (!) (!) (!) .
  • The post-mortem examination indicated no signs of snakebite or poisoning, and scratch marks on the neck suggested strangulation rather than suicide (!) (!) .
  • The location of the death within the house, where only family members were present, placed a burden on the family members to explain the circumstances, as per the principles of the Evidence Act (!) (!) .
  • The testimony of witnesses was considered, with some witnesses turning hostile; however, the court emphasized that the quality of evidence is more significant than the quantity (!) (!) .
  • The court noted that the accused's failure to explain the injuries and cause of death was a strong circumstance against him, especially given the evidence that the death occurred in the privacy of the home (!) (!) .
  • The appeal was dismissed because the evidence and circumstances sufficiently established the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt, and the courts below had correctly applied legal principles (!) (!) .
  • The court highlighted that the burden of proof regarding the cause of death shifted to the accused due to the circumstances, and mere denial was insufficient to rebut the evidence (!) (!) .
  • The court also directed the authorities to verify whether the accused had completed the required period of actual imprisonment for consideration of his release (!) .

Please let me know if you need a more detailed analysis or specific legal principles summarized.


JUDGMENT :

SANJAY KISHAN KAUL, J.

1. On the fateful day of 24.8.1999, one Sahodara Bai was found dead on a cot in her matrimonial home located in village Uslapur, District Rajanandgaon, M.P. (now Chhattisgarh). A marg intimation was lodged with the police at the behest of her brother, one Kishore Kumar, who alleged that he had returned to village Uslapur to see his sister, where he was informed by her in-laws that she had died. He related a prior incident from a few days ago alleging that on 19.8.1999, the deceased had returned to her maternal home to village Baiharsari stating that she had been harassed at the hands of her in-laws for the last 6-7 months. The cause for harassment was stated to be that the appellant herein (her husband) had a brother who lived separately and the in-laws would beat and harass her if she attempted to speak to the wife of the brother of the appellant herein. The endeavour of reconciliation took place when Kishore Kumar along with another brother, Lochan, had brought the deceased back to her matrimonial home. Even at that stage, on being asked whether they wanted her to live with them, the in-laws responded that they will see for a few days and then deci


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