Wife's murder: HC reduces life sentence of man to 10 years

The Bombay High Court has reduced to ten years the life imprisonment sentence awarded to a man for killing his wife by striking a blow on her neck at their home in Nashik nine years ago.
A bench of Justices V K Tahilramani and A R Joshi said the convict Narayan Mahaskar was guilty under 304 IPC part one (culpable homicide not amounting to murder having an intention to cause death) and reduced his sentence to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment, instead of 302 IPC (murder) under which he was awarded life imprisonment by the lower court.
The bench noted in their recent order that the evidence of witnesses points to a sudden fight between the couple on the day of the incident in which the husband struck a blow on the neck of his wife as a result of which she succumbed to injuries at their rental home.

The court said that only one blow was administered on the neck and no weapon was used in the attack. Looking into the nature of the injury and the circumstances, the judges said they were of the opinion that the convict had intended to cause the death of his wife and, hence, the offence should fall under section 304 of IPC, instead of 302.
According to the prosecution, the couple was staying in a rented house and used to quarrel every day. The incident occurred on the intervening night of September 1-2, 2005.
Their landlady Jijabai Sonawane found the victim dead in the house and reported the matter to the police.

Narayan had absconded and a look out notice was issued against him. He was declared a proclaimed offender.

He was arrested after ten months at the instance of a real estate agent who had helped him in getting the house on rent.
The convict had argued that there was a sudden fight between the two and he had struck a blow in a fit of anger. He took the defence that he had no intention to kill.
However, the prosecution argued that the accused had the intention to kill his wife and he struck very hard on her neck as a result of which she died. The accused had also absconded not for few days but for ten months.