The Supreme Court has provided relief to a woman convicted of killing her two daughters, after considering her claim that she acted under the influence of “invisible powers.”
A Bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and N Kotiswar Singh ruled that the possibility of a temporary lapse of judgment or temporary insanity could not be ignored in the case. As a result, her conviction was altered from murder under Section 302 IPC to culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304 Part II IPC.
The Court noted that the woman had already spent over nine years and ten months in custody, and therefore ordered her immediate release.
The tragic incident occurred in 2015 in Bharadkala village, Chhattisgarh, when the woman assaulted her daughters, aged 3 and 5, with an iron crowbar, leading to their deaths. Her sister-in-law witnessed the act and testified that the woman shouted she was killing her children.
The trial court convicted her of murder and sentenced her to life imprisonment, which was later upheld by the Chhattisgarh High Court. She then approached the Supreme Court, arguing that she was not in a proper mental state at the time.
While the Supreme Court confirmed that the homicide was proven, it highlighted the absence of motive, her loving relationship with her children, and the lack of evidence of family discord or financial stress. The Court observed that her unstable mental condition, confused with superstition, could not be entirely ruled out.
The Bench emphasized the importance of courts probing unusual defenses, such as claims of supernatural influence, under Section 165 of the Indian Evidence Act. It also stressed that mental health issues in rural India often remain undiagnosed, leading to tragic outcomes misinterpreted as the result of superstitions.
Given these doubts and the absence of clear intent, the Supreme Court reduced the conviction and ordered her release.
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