Murder By Poisoning : Is Conviction Possible Even Without Detecting Poison In The Body Of The Deceased?

Is it possible to convict a person for murder by poisoning even without tracing out the poison and without discovering the mode of administering it?This question is being hotly debated among legal circles, ever since the Kerala police made an astonishing allegation that a woman named Jolly Joseph of Koodathayi village of northern Kerala had caused deaths of six of her family members over a span of 17 years by administering them cyanide. An answer to this question is found in the decision of Supreme Court in the case Anant Chintaman Lagu v State of Bombay(1959).Conviction on the basis of conduct of the accusedThe Anant Chintamanu Lagu case was one of murder by poisoning. Interestingly, even though the courts found the accused guilty of murder, the actual poison which was used in the crime was not identified, let alone traced. The conviction in the case was mostly on the basis of the previous and subsequent conduct of the accused.The case had its genesis as follows. A 45 year old widow, fell unconscious during an overnight train journey from Pune to Bombay. As soon as the train reached Bombay at around 5.30 AM on November 13 1956, Anant Chintamun Lagu, a Pune-based doctor who was travelling in the same compartment as the woman, took her to GT hospital in Bombay.Lagu told the doctors at hospital he had not known the woman before the journey and during the course of journey he had gathered that her name was "Indumati Paunshe". He provided his address in Pune to the hospital for contact.The lady died at hospital during treatment at around 11.30 AM. To the doctors at hospital, the lady seemed like a destitute. She had no money or gold ornaments. They sent a telegram to Lagu asking for him to make arrangements for removal of her body. No response came. Two days later, the hospital received a letter from Lagu, which stated that the woman had a brother living in Calcutta, and that he will come to hospital for receiving her body. But no one came to claim the body. The body was subsequently handed over to medical college for use of students for dissection and study. While so, one of the clerks in the medical college noticed some suspicious marks on the body. Based on this, autopsy of the body was done, seven days after death. The autopsy and the chemical examination of the viscera did not show anything unusual. The body was later cremated.Meanwhile, in Pune, relatives of a wealthy widow named Laxmibai Karve were feeling anxious about her missing for many days. One day, they received a letter, purportedly written by her, stating that she she had left on a pilgrimage tour to holy places of India during which she had met and married a Joshi at Rathodi. They also received further letters from Laxmibai stating that she had no intention of returning to Poona or to see anybody there and so nobody need bother to find out her whereabouts.The relatives felt something strange about these developments. They knew that Laxmibai Karve had a long history of diabetic and uterine problems, and Dr Anat Chintamun Lagu was her regular doctor. They also came to know that Laxmibai and Lagu had together boarded a train from Pune to Bombay for meeting a doctor there.Further inquiries revealed that a lot of properties and bank accounts of Laxmibai Karve were transferred to Lagu based on documents, which were apparently forged.The relatives, who grew suspicious, lodged a police complaint. The police in due course submitted final report accusing Lagu of committing murder of Karve by poisoning her during the train journey with the motive of grabbing her wealth.Proof of murderThe trial court convicted Lagu for murder and sentenced him to death. This was confirmed by the High Court and the matter reached the Supreme Court through appeal.The vexed question before the apex court was how to sustain the conviction in the case when there was no direct evidence of poisoning. The court had before it the medical evidence of one Dr. Mehta, who after deep and thorough study of the medical records and autopsy report of Laxmibai expressed the definite opinion that she did not die of diabetic coma as told by the GTH doctors.The majority of Justices M Hidayatullah and S K Das of the three judges bench took into account following factors to sustain the conviction :Lagu feigning ignorance about the real identity and background of Laxmibai before the doctors at GTH hospital.Lagu suppressing the fact that he had known Laxmibai for long as her doctor and not revealing her medical history to GTH hospital.The accused suppressing the original name of Laxmibai from GTH hospitals and telling them her maiden name "Indumati".His act of lying about her non-existent brother in Calcutta.His act of abandoning Laxmibai in hospital.His act of removing the cash,ornaments and belongings of Laxmibai before admitting her to the hospital.He influencing Doctors of GTH hospitals to avoid post-mortem of Laxmibai by stating that it will cause stigma to her family.The subsequent acts ...

Murder By Poisoning : Is Conviction Possible Even Without Detecting Poison In The Body Of The Deceased?

Manu Sebastian

A discussion on a notable case which shows how conviction for murder by poisoning can be based solely on circumstantial evidence.

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