New Delhi, A Delhi court has convicted a man for attempting to murder his wife by shooting her in the stomach outside a hospital in Connaught Place in 2018, saying the testimony of the injured woman was credible, trustworthy and sufficient to establish his guilt.
Additional Sessions Judge Dhirendra Rana, in a judgment dated October 13, held Sushant guilty under IPC Section 307 and Section 27 of the Arms Act, which deals with the use of arms.
The court, however, acquitted him of the charge under Section 25 of the Arms Act, which relates to illegal possession of a firearm.
It noted that a separate FIR for possession of the pistol was registered at Seelampur police station, and the trial in that case is pending before another court.
According to the prosecution, the incident took place on November 24, 2018, outside Gate No. 5 of Kalawati Hospital in Connaught Place. The victim, Pinki, worked as a security guard at the hospital and had been living at her parental home since her husband was sent to jail in a separate case in 2015.
Pinki told the court that Sushant, who had been released from jail about a month and a half earlier, came to the hospital in the evening and called her outside.
As she sat in an auto-rickshaw he had parked across the road, he asked whether she would return to her matrimonial home. When she refused, he fired a shot that hit her in the stomach and fled.
The victim said she was operated upon the same day, remained hospitalised for about a month, and underwent four surgeries in a short span.
The court said the evidence of the hospital staff, along with CCTV camera footage, established that the accused had come to the hospital and left with the victim shortly before she returned injured.
It noted that the owner of an auto-rickshaw testified that he had handed the vehicle to Sushant that day, and the vehicle was found abandoned near the spot with blood stains, and that later a forensic analysis matched the blood sample collected from the vehicle with the victim's DNA.
Citing several Supreme Court precedents, the court said the testimony of an injured witness carries great weight, as it comes with an inbuilt guarantee of presence at the scene, and that a conviction can rest on a single reliable witness.
The court said the defence failed to point to any reason why Pinki would falsely implicate her husband, beyond a "bald suggestion" of false implication arising from a matrimonial dispute.
"The accused fired upon the vital part of the body of the victim and, needless to say, he intended to eliminate the victim as she was not ready to live with the accused.
"Hence, the prosecution is successful in proving beyond reasonable doubt that the accused had attempted to commit murder of his wife Pinki and he stands convicted under Section 307 of the IPC," the judge said.
"I am of the considered view that the prosecution has successfully proved its case based on credible and trustworthy testimony of prosecution witness Pinki," he added.
The arguments on sentencing will be heard on a later date.
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