"Looking at the evidence on record, prima facie, it appears to be a case of suicide and not a case of murder. In this view of the matter, we are inclined to grant bail to the applicants, Vishnu Khandagale and his wife Rekha," said justices V K Tahilramani and Sadhana Jadhav.
The duo was accused of murdering Sonali, sister-in-law of Vishnu in 2010. The prosecution had alleged that Rekha had held Sonali by hands and asked Vishnu to set her afire. Sonali was admitted to a hospital and succumbed to burn injuries.
The two were put on trial and convicted for the offence of murder. They filed an appeal in the High Court and applied for bail. Hearing their plea, the Court granted them liberty last week observing that prima facie it appeared to be a case of suicide and not murder.
The prosecution relied upon the statement of a witness who had recorded Sonali's dying declaration. It also relied upon statements of Sonali's mother and brother who said they had been told by the victim that she had been set on fire.
Lawyers for the applicants C K Pendse and Vishal Kolekar submitted that it is a case of suicidal burns and the applicants had been falsely implicated. To support their contention, they placed reliance on the evidence of Dr Thorat, who had examined Sonali when she was admitted in the hospital.
"The doctor has admitted that till the death of patient, her statement before the Magistrate was not recorded in his presence. This admission by the doctor, prima facie, raises a doubt about the dying declaration recorded by the prosecution witness," the judges noted.
The doctor further admitted that the history given to him is of suicidal burns. He stated that in case of suicidal burns invariably the patient is referred to a psychiatrist.In this case also, the patient was referred to a psychiatrist.
The psychiatrist met Sonali on August 12, 2010, and was told that it was a case of self harm by burns. The medical papers also bore out the admission given by Dr Thorat.