Testimony of wife, father gets man life imprisonment

Testimony given by a man's wife and father, who were eyewitness to a murder he committed, has led the Bombay High Court to uphold the life sentence imposed on him in 2013.

A division bench of Justice VK Tahilramani and Justice MS Karnik confirmed the conviction given to Ankush Waghmare based on the testimony of Jyoti and Sanjay. It said "The conviction and sentence of the Appellant under Section 302 of Indian Penal Code, is confirmed."

As per the prosecution case, on April 14, 2011, the accused came home in an intoxicated condition and started assaulting his wife and children. The wife's parents saved her from the assault, but he continued to use foul language.

The accused and his family members worked as daily laborers for now deceased Mohammaed Hasan Chilplunkar, who was informed about the incident. He rushed to the accused's house to pacify him.

However, the accused started assaulting him with a sickle, giving the man ten blows to his body, after which he fell down onto the ground. He was rushed to hospital, where he was declared dead before admission. Police registered a case of murder and arrested him. During the trial, prosecution examined ten witnesses, including the wife and father of the accused. They narrated the incident and, accepting their evidence, the court sentenced Waghmare to life imprisonment.

In court, the accused argued that he was being falsely implicated in the case and there were discrepancies in the testimonies of both eyewitnesses. However, the court held that the accused assaulting the deceased with a sickle being a constant in both testimonies, rendered the case proved beyond reasonable doubt, by the prosecution. The court thus rejected the appeal filed by Waghmare and confirmed his sentence.