Accused and deceased seen together before death

Accused and deceased seen together before death

In Trimukh Maroti Kirkan v. State of Maharastra, CRL Appeal No. 1341 of 2005 the defense story was that the wife died of snake bite whereas it was proved that she died of asphyxia and that she and the appellant were seen together before her death. The Court affirmed the conviction and sentence of the appellant and observed thus:

“Where an accused is alleged to have committed the murder of his wife and the prosecution succeeds in leading evidence to show that shortly before the commission of crime they were seen together or the offence takes placed in the dwelling home where the husband also normally resided, it has been consistently held that if the accused does not offer any explanation how the wife received injuries or offers an explanation which is found to be  false, it is a strong circumstance which indicates that he is responsible for commission of the crime.”

[Trimukh Maroti Kirkan gv. State of Maharastra, CRL Appeal No. 1341 of 2005, decided on October 11, 2006]