"Several Missing Links": Kerala Court Acquits Woman Convicted Of Killing Newborn
The Kerala High Court acquitted a woman previously sentenced to life for the murder of her newborn, citing a lack of evidence and missing links in the prosecution's case. The court noted that the prosecution failed to prove motive or the physical possibility of the crime as described.
Why it matters
This ruling highlights the importance of rigorous evidence standards in criminal law and the potential for judicial review to correct wrongful convictions.
The Kerala High Court has acquitted a woman who was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for allegedly killing her baby right after its birth in 2009 and disposing of the body in a nearby abandoned property.A bench of justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and K V Jayakumar said that the prosecution has failed to prove the charge of murder against the accused beyond a reasonable doubt.The High Court also said that the prosecution "miserably failed" to prove the alleged motive -- to conceal the illegitimacy of the pregnancy -- as the accused's sister-in-law and a neighbour were aware she was carrying."If that be so, the alleged motive for the concealment of the illegitimate pregnancy and the consequential murder of the newborn child cannot be believed. Furthermore, there are several missing links in the chain of circumstantial evidence.
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