'Wife thrashed forced to drink acid': Delhi court convicts husband, 2 others

New Delhi: A Delhi court has convicted two persons accused of forcibly making a woman drink acid in 2019.

Additional sessions judge Twinkle Wadhwa convicted the woman's husband for the offence of voluntarily causing hurt, saying it was proved he thrashed her with a belt.

The court was hearing a case against the woman's husband Shamin, mother-in-law Haseena and sister-in-law Shabnam booked under Sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 326 A (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by use of acid, etc.) of IPC.

The prosecution alleged Shamin thrashed his wife following which the others forced her to ingest acid on March 5, 2019.

In its verdict dated February 14, the court said the victim specifically narrated her ordeal and the relevant events while reiterating her statement before a magistrate.

Trashing the argument of the defence, which said that the woman showed no external injuries in the medico-legal case, the court said, "Beatings with a belt can cause significant pain and trauma, but depending on the force used, the impact and the skin sensitivity of a person, there may not be visible external injuries." The verdict went on to add, "There is absolutely nothing in her statement for this court to conclude that she is not speaking the truth." The defence counsel also argued that two days after the incident, the complainant made two hand-written statements to the investigating officer, mentioning she had accidentally ingested acid in rage.

It was argued that false accusations against the husband's family members were only made in April 2019, based on which the FIR was registered, and that she deposed falsely before the magistrate.

The court, however, rejected the argument and said, "When she (the victim) was brought to the hospital, her condition was very serious as her voice had stopped coming, and there was the effect of acid on her throat, neck, abdomen and other body parts. She was not in a position to speak. What was the urgency on her part to give the written statement on March 7? It appeared that her husband and in-laws, who accompanied the victim to the hospital, pressured her to give the written statements, the court added.

"What is the relevance of such a statement given by the complainant when she was in acute pain and was declared unfit for statement by the doctor?" it asked.

The court said statements must be given voluntarily, without coercion, threat or undue influence, and the complainant must be mentally and physically fit to comprehend and express the statements clearly.

"Severe pain and trauma may impair cognitive abilities. Further, she was under the influence of drugs. Further perusal of these handwritten statements would show that they are not written in a flow; there are several cuttings and over-writings," it said.

The victim, the court said, was cross-examined in detail and there was nothing in her testimony to show that she deposed falsely.

The women were convicted under Section 326A and 34 (common intention) of IPC.

Arguments on sentencing would be heard on March 12.