Bombay high court spares man who pummelled mother to death

There are people who would say that Anil Agavane had killed his mother, repeatedly hitting her on the head with a wooden log. They
had seen him doing it. But the Bombay high court
has reduced Agavane’s life sentence.

Worli-resident Agavane, 33, was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2006. The trial court had found him guilty of inflicting several blows on his 65-year-old mother’s head with a wooden log, which led to her death.

The incident took place in the afternoon of June 30, 2006, at the Century Mill quarters in Worli, where Agavane lived with his wife and parents.

According to the prosecution, Agavane’s wife, Kavita, and mother Bhagirathi had a fierce quarrel that day. There used to be frequent disputes between the two.

Agavane had asked his parents to shift to a rented accommodation, but they did not have the means to do so.

Kavita got very upset and told Agavane over the phone that she was leaving home with their minor son. Around 3.45pm, a furious Agavane came home, armed with a wooden log. He unleashed his fury on his mother. He kept hitting her on the head with the log.

Bhagirathi tried to run towards a neighbour’s house, but tripped on the threshold and fell. Later, she succumbed to her injuries in hospital. Neighbours lodged an FIR and Agavane was arrested the same day.

Agavane’s father had left home the moment his wife and daughter-in-law started quarrelling. The key witness in the case was Agavane’s brother’s wife, Poonam, who was in the house with Bhagirathi.

Poonam said that even after Bhagirathi fell, Agavane inflicted more blows on her and said anyone who scolded his wife would meet the same fate. The trial court had held that Agavane’s act was “pre-meditated” as he came home with a wooden log. He was, therefore, given life sentence for murder.

But in the high court, justice BH Marlapalle and justice Mridula Bhatkar noted in their recent judgment that Kavita had informed Agavane about the quarrel at home. “This obviously provoked the accused, and he lost his temper. In anger he entered the house with a wooden log and assaulted his mother,” they said. Accepting the submissions of the defence advocate, the court said, “The reason behind the assault reduces the gravity of the act.”