Supreme Court upholds life sentence of man who tried to pass off wife's dowry death as suicide

The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the conviction and life sentence of a man for murdering his wife and hanging her body to make the death appear to be a suicide [Gour Acharjee v. State of Tripura].

A Bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and KV Viswanathan dismissed the husband’s appeal challenging the judgment of the Gauhati High Court affirming his conviction for murder and marital cruelty.

The Court found that the medical evidence clearly established that the case was one of simulated or homicidal hanging and not suicide.

It noted that the husband was present in the matrimonial home when his wife was found dead and failed to offer any plausible explanation for the injuries sustained by her or the circumstances leading to her death.