Jaipur: Rajasthan High Court has acquitted a man sentenced to life imprisonment for allegedly murdering his wife by hanging her with a rope, holding that the prosecution failed to establish that the death was a homicide beyond reasonable doubt.Rajveer, a resident of Ramnagar in Bharatpur district who was arrested in 2013 and remained in jail throughout the trial and appeals process, had never been granted bail.A division bench of Justice Mahendar Kumar Goyal and Justice Bhuwan Goyal pronounced the judgment on Nov 6 after hearing an appeal filed by Rajveer challenging the life sentence awarded to him by a sessions court in Bayana in 2015.The case goes back to July 5, 2013, when Rajveer’s wife was found hanging, following which his father, Ramphal, lodged a complaint at Roopwas police station. An FIR was registered on charges of murder and Rajveer was arrested later the same day.Defence counsel Abhimanyu Singh Sandu argued that the prosecution case rested primarily on the testimony of Vimal Kumar, the couple’s 12-year-old son, whose statements were contradictory and unreliable.The boy initially stated that he and his brother were playing outside and had not witnessed the incident, but subsequently claimed that his father had murdered his mother in front of him. The bench also noted that his police statement was recorded 10 days after the incident, without any explanation for the delay.Sandu also argued that the post-mortem report recorded no external injuries apart from a ligature mark on the neck, with a medical expert confirming that the possibility of suicidal hanging could not be ruled out.The defence contended that forcibly hanging a normally built adult woman without causing injuries or signs of resistance was highly improbable.Additionally, Sandu argued that the rope used in the hanging was seized but never sent for forensic examination, and the site plan presented by police failed to establish the prosecution’s allegation that the woman had first been strangled with a muffler.The court also noted that witnesses described the couple’s 16-year marriage as harmonious, with no history of disputes.Holding that the prosecution had failed to prove the charge against Rajveer beyond reasonable doubt, the bench quashed his conviction and sentence and ordered his release forthwith.Reasonable DoubtThe post-mortem recorded no external injuries apart from a ligature mark on the neck, with a medical expert confirming that the possibility of suicidal hanging could not be ruled outIt held that the prosecution had failed to establish that the death was a homicide beyond reasonable doubt
