In a notable verdict, the Sessions Court in Thane, Maharashtra, has acquitted a woman and her mother-in-law of murder charges from an incident that occurred in 2017. The court cited a lack of conclusive evidence as the basis for the acquittal.
The accused, Savita Santosh Jadhav, 46, and her mother-in-law, Vatsala Baban Jadhav, 67, were implicated in the death of Gita Kadam, who allegedly had an affair with Savita’s husband and had moved into their home. The prosecution claimed that the women were responsible for Kadam’s death, which they initially reported as a suicide.
During the trial, defence lawyer M I Z G Shaikh challenged the prosecution’s case, pointing out the absence of direct evidence tying the two women to the crime and highlighting several inconsistencies in the investigative process. The defense also noted that the body was found in a locked bedroom, and emphasized that the accused had no immediate legal duty to report the death.
Additional Sessions Judge A N Sirsikar, presiding over the case, expressed doubts about the accuracy of the call data records presented and the inability of the prosecution to definitively place the deceased and the accused together in the house at the time of death. The court also considered conflicting witness statements, including that of Gita’s brother, who testified he spoke to her on the day she died, but his account did not match other testimonies.
Judge Sirsikar mentioned the delayed reporting of Gita’s death by the accused, attributing their hesitation to fear and the absence of male family members at the time. He concluded, “This ground alone is not sufficient to prove the factum of murder.”
