by Man mother acquittedThe bench acquitted Punit a businessman, his mother Godavari residents of Mudhol Bagalkot district The trial court had sentenced Punit to life imprisonment for the murder of his wife Ashwini in September 2016 His mother was sentenced to three years jail for illtreatment meted out to the deceased It was alleged that on September 4 2016 Punit had picked a quarrel with his wife, thereafter poured a can of kerosene on her, set her ablaze But Punit claimed it was a stove burst, he had tried to save AshwiniThe bench noted that the act of saving his wife itself negates the murder charge It pointed out that investigation was not conducted properly to ascertain the existence or nonexistence of the stove Referring to Godavari the bench noted that there was no allegation that Ashwini had diedby suicide because of illtreatment from her motherinlaw
Published in The Times of India (Online) (09.11.2022)