A man, accused of torturing his wife and compelling her to commit suicide, has been let off by a Delhi court which refused to rely on the testimony of the couple's daughter against her father.
Additional Sessions Judge Gautam Manan absolved the man, a Delhi resident, of charges under sections 498A (cruelty) and 306 (abetment of suicide) of the IPC and noted contradictions in the statements of the woman's daughter, who deposed against her father, and two sons who supported him.
"The testimonies of the neighbours of the deceased and her sons are in complete contradiction with the evidence led by her daughter and father.
"When the statements of deceased's daughter were recorded, she was in company of her grandfather and hence the influence of her maternal family over her testimony can't be ruled out," the court said while rejecting the contention of the daughter that the accused man was an alcoholic and used to beat her mother for money.
The court also noted that the couple was married for 20 years and there was no complaint against the accused ever before.
"The fact that he was married to the deceased for last 20 years cannot be lost sight of. There is absolutely nothing on record that for all those 20 years, the parents of the deceased ever lodged any complaint against the ill treatment of the deceased by the accused.
"Moreso, the sons of the deceased have categorically deposed that their mother was never maltreated by the accused," it said.
"I am of the view that the prosecution has been unable to prove that the accused treated the deceased with cruelty which induced her to end her life. He is acquitted," the judge said.
According to prosecution, on February 14, 2012, the father of the woman lodged a complaint against the accused alleging that he had killed his daughter by poisoning her.
He claimed that the man used to treat his daughter cruelly under the influence of alcohol and was addicted to gambling, for which he used to snatch money from her.
