She didn’t intend to kill daughter-in-law, so no life term: HC

DNA Correspondent

The Bombay high court has acquitted a woman of the charge of murdering her daughter-in-law, observing that she did not intend to kill her.  A division bench of Justice VK Tahilramani and Justice PD Kode reduced the charge and found the appellant, Mangala Thorat, guilty of “culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Her sentence has been brought down from life imprisonment to six years’ jail. Mangala has already served five years of her sentence. The judges have noted in their order that although there was no doubt that the appellant had set her daughter-in-law Neelam on fire, she had immediately doused the flames. “If the appellant had ever intended Neelam to die, she would not have immediately extinguished the fire in an effort to save her,” observed the bench. The judges noted: “Unfortunately, the situation slipped out of control and it went to a fatal extent.” Neelam married Mangala’s son Sunil on April 30, 2005, and the couple lived in suburban Ghatkopar with Sunil’s parents. On November 25, 2005, Neelam and Mangala had a heated argument over some money-related matter. Mangala poured kerosene on Neelam and set her on fire. Neelam died of her injuries four days later. In her dying declaration, she implicated her mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law and husband. The sessions court sentenced Mangala to life imprisonment. It acquitted the others. Mangala had challenged the conviction. Source:::: DNA, 29-03-2013, p.3, http://epaper.dnaindia.com/story.aspx?id=42261&boxid=15530&ed_date=2013-03-29&ed_code=820009&ed_page=9