HC sets aside life term for man who killed wife

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has set aside a life term of a man who killed his wife nearly a decade ago after concluding that it was a spur-of-the-moment act. Mohammed Kasam Rajmani Shaikh (32) had set his wife on fire after an argument, and then rushed her to a hospital. He was granted relief on April 15, after a division bench of Justices B H Marlapalle and Abhay Thipsay held him guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, which is Section 304 (part 1) of IPC.
Shaikh’s sentence has been reduced to ten years. As he has been imprisoned since his arrest on July 12, 2001, the judges directed the jail authorities to release him. The HC was hearing an appeal filed by Shaikh, a resident of Shivaji Nagar, Govandi. He had moved the HC in 2003, after a sessions court held him guilty of murdering his wife Shabinabanu.
They judges said: “There was no preparation with intention to cause the death of Shabinabanu (wife). The incident had taken place at the spur of the moment and in the heat of the anger and, therefore, the offence would not come within the ambit of Section 302 of IPC.”
On July 12, 2001. Shabinabanu had asked for money for some medicine. He refused to listen to her. In anger, she told her husband that if he did not wish to give her the money, it would be better if he simply killed her. Shaikh doused her with kerosene and set her ablaze. She was admitted to Rajawadi Hospital, where she gave a dying declaration to the special executive officer. The judges noted: “At the same time when the accused poured kerosene and threw a burning matchstick on the person of his wife, he was aware that his acts were likely to cause the death of his wife. Hence, the offence would fall under Section 304 (Part I) of IPC.”