Karnataka HC sets aside life term imprisonment of woman accused of killing two-month-old epileptic daughter, releases her

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has recently set aside the conviction and sentence of life imprisonment of a woman, accused of killing her two-month-old daughter who was suffering from respiratory problems and epilepsy and also, ordered her release from the prison.

A division bench of Justices KS Somashekar and Shivashankar Amarannavar acquitted the accused Kavitha, a resident of Madakasira in Sri Sathyasai district of Andhra Pradesh, who has been in custody for the last six years. The bench directed her release from prison if not wanted in any other case.

On July 22 in 2017, the Fourth Additional District and Sessions Judge, Madhugiri in Tumakuru district had convicted Kavitha under Section 302 (punishment for murder) of the Indian Penal Code and sent her to life imprisonment for the murder, as per a report of The Indian Express.

Kavitha and her husband Manjunatha had reportedly come to a hospital in Koratagere under Tumakuru district of Karnataka to treat their child who was suffering from respiratory problems and epilepsy. Kavitha was also unable to feed her baby.

Kavitha’s husband, Manjunatha lodged an FIR with the local police alleging that Kavitha threw the baby in the Suvarnamukhi River on the outskirts of Koratagere Town on August 24, 2016. Following this, an investigation was launched and a trial led to her conviction by the trial court in 2017, reported The Indian Express.

The prosecution examined a total of 15 witnesses and 16 documents to get the conviction, said reports.

However, the division bench High Court earlier this month accepted the woman’s appeal, set aside the conviction, acquitted her and also ordered her release, reported The Indian Express.

"In the instant case, the importance of corroboration of the evidence which was facilitated by the prosecution, it must be positive, cogent, consistent and probabalised that the accused had committed the murder of the deceased. But in the instant case, Kavitha who is none other than the mother of the deceased baby aged two months, though the prosecution in their case put on trial of this accused, subjected examination of PW.1 to PW.15, but no worthwhile evidence has been facilitated by the prosecution for securing the conviction of the accused of the offence under section 302 of Indian Penal Code, 1860,” the HC said in the judgement.