Debangana Ray
Published on: 12 June, 2022 at 16:51 IST
The Bombay High Court set aside a case where a man was convicted for the murder of his wife even though he was found near the deceased and the death had taken place in his house.
The Bench comprising of Justices Sadhana S. Jadhav and Milind N. Jadhav, reasoned that the accused has the right to remain silent and before the accused starts defending himself, the prosecution is required to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
Under Section 106 of the Indian Evidence Act, the prosecution has the initial burden of proving the case beyond reasonable doubt.
The court observed the plain reading of the provisions says that, “Section 106 of the Indian Evidence Act does not discharge the initial burden on the prosecution to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.”
“Unless the prosecution is able to stand on its own legs and give a conclusive proof of the fact that the accused is the author of the injuries sustained by his wife the onus would not shift upon the accused to explain the circumstances in which his wife has died, and her dead body is found in the house occupied by the accused and the deceased.”
The Court stated that except the fact that the death happened in the house of the defendant and the defendant was found near the deceased, there is no other evidence that the defendant killed his wife.