"Heavy Duty Of Wife To Explain In What State She Left Room Where Husband Was Found Murdered": Allahabad HC Upholds Murder Conviction

The Allahabad High Court recently upheld the murder conviction and life sentence awarded to a woman and her alleged lover for killing the husband of the woman in furtherance of common intention.

The Court observed that the wife/accused had failed to explain her conduct and the state of leaving her husband's room (where he was found murdered the next morning) late at night.

Consequently, yhe Bench of Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Saroj Yadav upheld the conviction as it noted that the prosecution had been able to prove the motive of the crime i.e. accused Ajai Prasad had illicit relations with the accused Reena Srivastava (wife of the deceased) and in furtherance of their common intention, they killed the deceased.

The case in brief

As per the prosecution's case, the FIR was lodged against unknown persons alleging that the complainant (brother of the deceased), deceased, and their younger brother Satish all went to sleep in their rooms after having meals, and the rest of the family members went to sleep on the roof along with the mother of the deceased.

In the night, at about 1 O'clock the wife of Vipin (deceased) i.e. Reena Srivastava went to sleep on the roof where mother of the complainant was sleeping with other family members.

The next morning, when the mother of the complainant shouted loudly that Vipin (deceased) was lying dead on his bed, then the complainant rushed to the room of the deceased Vipin and found him lying dead on his bed.

He also found injuries on his body and guessed that some unknown person had killed him in the night. During the course of the investigation, the name of the convicts/appellants Reena Srivastava and Ajai Prasad (Reena's uncle) surfaced.

After analyzing the evidence available on record, the Trial Court relied upon the evidence of witnesses of facts examined and found medical evidence consistent with the oral evidence.

The Court came to the conclusion that it was proved by circumstantial evidence that the convict/appellant Ajai Prasad killed the deceased Vipin Kumar Srivastava by knife along with convict/appellant Reena Srivastava in furtherance of common intention as they illicit relations.

The trial Court further held the convict/appellant Ajai Prasad guilty under Section 302 IPC and convict/appellant, Reena Srivastava, under Section 302/34 IPC and sentenced them to life imprisonment. Challenging their conviction, they moved to the High Court.

High Court's observations 

Having analyzed the testimony of the witnesses of fact and other surrounding circumstances, the Court observed that all witnesses of facts could prove that Ajai Prasad (A1) and Reena Srivastava (A2) were close to each other, and their closeness was not liked by the family members or even by the deceased.

Further, the Court took into account the fact that the convict/appellant Ajai Prasad had confessed his crime and got recovered the knife used for murdering the deceased Vipin and also got recovered the Vest, which he wore at the time of committing the murder and on that Vest got blood stains due to stabbing of the knife to the deceased.

Regarding the suspicious conduct of the wife of the deceased, the Court observed that the deceased and his wife/accused went to sleep in their room after having meals but after midnight at about 1 O'clock all of sudden, she went to sleep on the roof where her mother-in-law was sleeping along with other family members.

"No plausible explanation in this regard has been given from the side of the accused Reena Srivastava. The incident had occurred inside the bed-room where husband and wife went to sleep. It is heavy-duty of the wife to explain how the incident occurred or in what state she left the room, where her husband was found murdered," the Court further stressed.

The Court further noted that it was proven that the A1 along with Narendra and Alka (brother and sister of Reena) had slept on that night in the campus of the School adjacent to their house on the pretext of inconvenience in sleeping on the roof.

Significantly, the Court also noted that the next morning, when her mother-in-law asked Reena to wake her husband up, she ignored and she was busy in preparing breakfast in the kitchen.

"These all facts and circumstances have been corroborated by the recovery of knife used in the crime and Vest of the accused Ajai Prasad, which he wore at the time of committing the murder of the deceased Vipin at the pointing out of accused Ajai Prasad.,,Hence, it is clear and well established that the murder of the deceased was committed by the convict/appellant Ajai Prasad in connivance with convict/appellant Reena Srivastava in furtherance of a common intention. Therefore, the trial Court has rightly held the accused persons guilty and sentenced them accordingly with imprisonment for life coupled with fine," the Court finally held as it dismissed the appeal of the accused.

Also read: S.106 Evidence Act | Husband Can't Be Asked To Explain Wife's Death In Their House Unless Prosecution Establishes Prima Facie Case: Bombay High Court

Case title - Reena Srivastava Vs. State Of U.P. [CRIMINAL APPEAL No. - 2702 of 2008]

Case Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (AB) 313

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