Allahabad HC Finds Prosecution Evidence Insufficient, Acquits Two in Child Death Case

The Allahabad High Court has acquitted a woman sentenced to death for allegedly killing her three children, holding that the prosecution failed to establish her guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

A division bench of Justice Siddhartha Varma and Justice Jai Krishna Upadhyay on Tuesday set aside the conviction and sentences of Priyanka and Ashish alias Daini, the younger brother of Priyanka’s deceased husband and her alleged partner in the case.

While the trial court had sentenced Priyanka to death under Section 302 of the IPC, Ashish was awarded life imprisonment. The high court acquitted both and directed that they be released forthwith if they were not wanted in any other case.

The case relates to the deaths of Priyanka’s three sons Madhav alias Gunga, 6, Aditya alias Tilla, 5, and Mangal, 4 whose bodies were recovered from the Sengur river in Auraiya on June 27, 2024.

According to the prosecution, Priyanka had taken her four sons to a bridge over the river around 5 am in alleged collusion with Ashish. It was alleged that the two attempted to drown all four children, with the eldest son, Sonu, surviving.

The prosecution primarily relied on Sonu’s account of the incident. However, the high court found “irreconcilable contradictions” in the eight-year-old’s testimony and observed that it displayed “clear hallmarks of tutoring.”

The court also noted inconsistencies concerning how the incident was reported to the police. Sonu stated that he narrated the incident to a gram pradhan, who informed the police, and that his uncle Manish subsequently got the FIR registered. However, Manish gave a different account, stating that he received information about the deaths through the pradhan and did not know who had initially informed him.

Finding the evidence insufficient to sustain the convictions, the high court allowed the appeals filed by both accused and set aside the trial court’s judgment.