In a significant verdict, a district court in Chandigarh has acquitted a 19-year-old girl who was accused of murdering her father more than two years ago. The court, presided over by Additional District and Sessions Judge Sonika, cited glaring inconsistencies in the evidence presented by the prosecution and discrepancies in witness testimony as the primary reasons for the acquittal.
The Incident and Initial Allegations
The case dates back to August 9, 2023, when a neighbour, Gulab, went to the house of 52-year-old Sumei Lala to fill a bottle with cold water. According to the First Information Report (FIR) filed on Gulab's complaint, he found Lala lying on the floor in a pool of blood. His daughter, the accused, was allegedly trying to press the wound to stop the bleeding.
Gulab, along with other neighbours and a woman named Asha, rushed the victim to the Government Multi-Specialty Hospital in Sector 16. However, Sumei Lala succumbed to his injuries. A post-mortem examination later confirmed that the fatal injury was caused by a single-edged sharp weapon used with force on the victim's chest.
In his statement to the police, Gulab claimed that the accused girl later told him that her father used to abuse her daily when he returned home drunk, which led her to stab him. She also reportedly asked Gulab to take her to the police to seek forgiveness. Based on this, the Chandigarh Police arrested the teenager and registered a murder case against her at the IT Park police station.
The Defence's Argument and Evidence Gaps
During the trial, the defence counsel, Gurdit Saini, argued that his client was falsely implicated. He presented crucial forensic evidence that created reasonable doubt. The defence highlighted that the knife recovered by the police from Sukhna choe, based on Asha's disclosure, had a round tip and a blade measuring 9.8 centimetres.
However, the victim's wound was documented in police and forensic reports to be 10.6 centimetres deep. Saini argued that this mismatch made it improbable for the recovered weapon to have inflicted the fatal injury.
Furthermore, the defence pointed out a major contradiction in the testimony of the complainant, Gulab. He admitted before the court that the accused girl never made a disclosure to him confessing to killing her father with a knife. This directly contradicted his initial statement to the police, which formed the basis of the arrest.
The Court's Decision and Aftermath
After hearing the arguments and examining the testimony and evidence, the court found the prosecution's case to be unreliable. The inconsistencies in the weapon's dimensions versus the wound size, coupled with the complainant's retraction of the crucial confession claim, created sufficient doubt.
Consequently, the court acquitted the young woman of all charges. A detailed written order explaining the judgment is awaited from the court. The ruling brings an end to a legal ordeal that began with the girl's arrest in August 2023 and lasted over two years.
This case underscores the critical importance of forensic evidence and consistent witness testimony in securing a conviction, especially in serious charges like murder. The court's decision prioritised the principle of 'benefit of doubt' when the chain of evidence was found to be broken.
