Court sentences man to life for murdering stepfather

A court here has sentenced a man to life imprisonment for murdering his stepfather in connivance with his minor wife.

Additional Sessions Judge Sunena Sharma convicted the man under sections 302 (murder) and 34 (acts done by several persons with common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on him.

The court also sent his wife to the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) to face inquiry for allegedly abetting the convict in the crime.

According to the prosecution, in March 2012, a police constable found two minor girls crying in front of a house and when he asked them why they were weeping, they told him their uncle and aunt had murdered their grandfather. He went inside the house and found the man lying dead with a deep wound to the neck. He then registered a case.

The prosecution said the accused saw his father misbehaving with his wife and forcibly trying to outrage her modesty. The accused got enraged over the incident and in connivance with his wife decided to kill him.

The accused had denied the charges and claimed trial.

"I feel no hesitation in holding that prosecution has successfully proved the charge of murder against the accused which he committed in furtherance of his common intention shared with his wife, who during proceedings of this case was declared juvenile and was sent to JJB for facing inquiry under Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000. Accordingly, the accused is held guilty for the offences of Section 302/34 of IPC," the judge said in the order.