Kerala High Court confirms life sentence for man who attacked wife, children with acid

The Kerala High Court recently upheld the conviction and life sentence of a man found guilty of attacking his wife and four children by pouring acid on them.

A Bench of Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V and Justice KV Jayakumar also directed the State government to pay ₹3 lakhs each to the convict's wife and four minor children who were injured in the attack, on finding that the trial court had failed to consider the aspect of victim compensation.

The Bench stressed that in acid attack cases, courts must ensure victims get proper financial relief.

The High Court passed the ruling in a criminal appeal filed by the accused man, who challenged the trial court's verdict against him.

The crime occurred on January 17, 2019, at around 3 AM, according to the prosecution. Harbouring suspicion about his wife's fidelity, the accused is said to have poured acid into the bedroom through a window, while his wife and children were asleep.

The attack left the man's elder daughter permanently blind and caused serious burn injuries for the other victims.

The trial court convicted the accused man under Sections 326A (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by use of acid, etc) and 450 (house-trespass in order to commit offence punishable with imprisonment for life) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The High Court upheld the man's conviction and life sentence for committing the offence under Section 326A, IPC. It observed that the man's actions were premeditated and cause serious injuries to his wife and children, justifying the severity of the punishment.

"In the instant case, there are five victims, who are none other than the wife and children of the appellant. Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, we are unable to accept the contentions of the appellant that the sentence of life imprisonment ordered by the trial court is harsh or excessive,", the Court said.

During arguments before the trial court, the prosecution had argued that the accused man had a history of domestic violence and harassment.

His wife had stated that the man used to torture her, both physically and mentally and she had even lodged a complaint previously before a police station.

It was also pointed out that on the evening before the attack, the children had found their household articles set on fire, an act which was also suspected to be committed by the accused.

The trial court eventually found him guilty of carrying out the acid attack and sentenced him to life imprisonment and a fine of ₹1 lakh. Further, he was also sentenced to five years of rigorous imprisonment and a ₹25,000 fine for criminal house-trespass.

The accused challenged this conviction, stating that none of the victims saw the person who poured the acid. He maintained that the prosecution failed to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt. 

The High Court refused to interfere with his conviction and sentence for the acid attack.

However, it has set aside his conviction and sentence for house trespass, finding that he was in lawful possession of the house where the crime occurred.

The accused was represented by advocates P Mohamed Sabah, Libin Stanley, R Gayathri, Sadik Ismayil, Saipooja, M Mahin Hamza, and Safiya Akbar.

Special public prosecutor Ambika Devi and public prosecutor Bindu OV appeared for the State.

[Read Judgment]