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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Dowry death homicide |
Sentence: |
Life Imprisonment |
Years Imprisoned: |
3 |
Year Crime: |
2011 |
Year Convicted: |
2017 |
Year Cleared: |
2020 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
India |
County or Region of Crime: |
Uttarakhand |
City of Crime: |
Haridwar |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Sandeep Kumar, and his father and mother were wrongly convicted in 2017 of Dowry Death (Sec 304B IPC) in the death of his wife on January 23, 2011 in Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India. It was determined that Kumar's wife died from poisoning. Kumar, and his mother and father were prosecuted for Dowry Death, and they were acquitted by the trial court. Kumar's father appealed the verdict, and in 2017 the Court of Appeals found them guilty, and they were sentenced to life in prison. The defendants appealed, arguing that the death of Kumar's wife from unnatural causes had not been proven by the prosecution. On December 2, 2020 a three-justice panel of the Indian Supreme Court set-aside their convictions and ordered their acquittal on the basis of insufficient evidence proving their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The Court ruled that the cause of Kumar's wife had not been established to have been unnatural as required by law. The Court also ruled the prosecution failed to introduce evidence proving Kumar's deceased wife had been subjected to cruelty or harassment in connection with a demand for dowry soon before her death." |
Conviction Caused By: |
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Innocence Proved By: |
"On December 2, 2020 a three-justice panel of the Indian Supreme Court set-aside their convictions and ordered their acquittal on the basis of insufficient evidence proving their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The Court ruled that the cause of Kumar's wife had not been established to have been unnatural as required by law. The Court also ruled the prosecution failed to introduce evidence proving Kumar's deceased wife had been subjected to cruelty or harassment in connection with a demand for dowry soon before her death." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
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Age When Released: |
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Sex: |
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Skin/Ethnicity: |
Indian |
Information Source 1: |
Sandeep Kumar and others v State of Uttarakhand and others (SLP(Crl) No.1512-1513 of 2017) (Reserving conviction and acquitting the three defendants.) |
Information Location 1: |
https://www.livelaw.in/pdf_upload/pdf_upload-385455.pdf |
Information Source 2: |
"Dowry Death - No Conviction Under Section 304B IPC If Unnatural Death Is Not Established: Supreme Court, By Staff, Livelaw News Network, Dec. 4, 2020" |
Information Location 2: |
https://www.livelaw.in/know-the-law/dowry-death-section-304b-ipc-supreme-court-unnatural-death-166833 |
Information Source 3: |
Section 304B in The Indian Penal Code -- 304B. Dowry death |
Information Location 3: |
https://tinyurl.com/yb3vlo9l |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org