Murder of child; conviction of trial court set aside by HC

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: The High Court of Karnataka has set aside the conviction and sentence passed by a trial court against a couple in the alleged murder of a child. After serving nine years, one month and 14 days in prison, they have been ordered to be released. The two were convicted by the lower court while three other accused in the case had been acquitted. The High Court found this inconsistent.

“It is a settled position of law that when the case against co-accused is ended in acquittal, the benefit of the same shall be extended to the other accused also. Therefore, in this appeal also appellants/ accused Nos.1 and 2 are deserving for benefit of the doubt which was extended to accused Nos.3 to 5 who participated in the crime a long with the accused,” the division bench of Justice K Somashekar and Justice CM Joshi said in their judgment acquitting Anusuya aka Hampi and her husband AM Manukumar, both from Maddur in Mandya.

They were convicted of the murder of a minor girl K Shalini by a trial court in August 2016. The allegations were that the wedding between Anusuya and Manukumar and another couple Raja and Amrutha were love marriages that had created friction in their extended families including with one Puttalingamma.

This led to constant quarrels. The deceased Shalini is the granddaughter of Puttalingamma. Anusuya, Manukumar, Raja, and two others were accused of murdering Shalini on June 29, 2010 as revenge against Puttalingamma. The body of Shalini was found beneath the bed in the home of Manukumar and Anusuya.

While Anusuya and Manukumar were imposed with life sentences, the other three accused were acquitted as the trial court did not find any evidence against them. The appeal of Anusuya and Manukumar was pending in the HC since 2016.

In its recent judgment, the HC said that the evidence against them was not corroborated. The witness in the case was a 12-year-old who stated that Shalini was last seen with Anusuya and Manukumar. The HC said that “The evidence of a child witness should be carefully scrutinized. "The deposition of a child witness must require corroboration",the HC said.