In a significant ruling on Monday, the Supreme Court of India modified the sentence of a Chhattisgarh woman who was convicted of killing her daughters in 2015. Justices B V Nagarathna and N Kotiswar Singh reclassified the original charge from Section 302 (murder) to Section 304 Part I (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The decision comes after the woman had already served nine years in custody. The apex court has sentenced her to the period already undergone, ordering her release without imposing any fine.
During the investigation, the court noted several discrepancies, including the failure of the state to establish a clear motive behind the act. Despite evidence from witnesses describing a seemingly normal domestic environment and portraying the woman as a non-violent individual, the motive for the crime was never satisfactorily explained.
“The state did not make any serious endeavours to ascertain the motive or the intention of the appellant during the investigation,” the bench stated, pointing out the lack of aggressive investigation into the psychological or emotional triggers that might have led to the incident.
The tragic event took place on June 5, 2015, in Bharadkala Village, Bemetara District, where the woman was reported to have attacked her daughters with an iron crowbar. This incident was witnessed by her sister-in-law, who lived in the same household.
Interestingly, the woman has consistently denied committing the crime, claiming she was possessed by an “invisible power” at the time of the incident, a defense that suggests a lack of conscious intent.
Addressing this aspect, the Supreme Court emphasized the need for trial courts to consider the mental state and intent of defendants, particularly in homicide cases. “The crucial question is whether she had the intention to cause death or whether she had the conscious knowledge that her actions were likely to cause death,” the justices explained.
The court also recommended that trial courts should proactively question witnesses to unearth the truth, especially in cases where the circumstances are inexplicable or where the accused might suffer from mental incapacities, even temporarily.
