Man gets life for killing wife

A 32-year-old man has been awarded life imprisonment by a Delhi court for strangling his wife to death after she suspected him of having an illicit relationship.
Additional Sessions Judge Pankaj Gupta handed down the jail term to Bihar native Rajeshwar Pathak, holding him guilty of murder under section 302 (murder) of the IPC.
The court, while convicting him, relied on the testimony of the victim's brother who had seen her last with the accused in their house just before the murder.
It also relied on the statements of other witnesses, including victim's father and sister who had confirmed the regular quarrels between the couple due to the alleged extra- marital affair of the accused, a cab driver by profession.

The court considered the post mortem report of the victim which showed strangulation marks on her neck besides other injuries on her body.
"The external and internal injuries to the neck, chest and abdomen were sufficient to cause death in the ordinary course of nature," the court noted.

"The evidence of the prosecution witnesses is natural and trustworthy and corroborated by medical evidence. Prosecution witnesses have been able to build up a continuous link.
"Therefore, the prosecution has been able to prove beyond reasonable doubt the necessary intent and knowledge of the accused to commit the murder of the deceased pursuant to which the accused committed the murder of the deceased. Consequently the accused is held guilty under section 302 of the IPC," the judge said.

According to prosecution, on June 30, 2013, the victim and the accused had a quarrel as he had not come home the previous night, with the former charging the latter with having a relationship outside their marriage.
Following the altercation, the man strangled the wife using an electric wire. The victim's brother found her lying on bed and took her to a hospital where she was declared dead.
Pathak had denied the allegations during trial and sought leniency from the court, contending he was not a previous offender.