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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Murder and Conspiracy |
Sentence: |
Life Imprisonment |
Years Imprisoned: |
6.5 |
Year Crime: |
2010 |
Year Convicted: |
2015 |
Year Cleared: |
2017 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
India |
County or Region of Crime: |
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City of Crime: |
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Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Avik Ghosh and Somnath Tanti were codefendants wrongly convicted on June 11, 2015 of charges related to the murder of Ghosh's wife Mausumi, 30, and her maid, Parul, on September 27, 2010 in Kolkata (Calcutta), West Bengal, India. Ghosh, Tanti and three other codefendants were charged with the crime on April 24, 2012 -- 19 months after it occurred. Their prosecution was based on the prosecution's scenario that Ghosh hired Tanti to kill his wife. Tanti recanted his confession that Ghosh hired him, claiming he was coerced during intense police interrogation. The prosecution of all five codefendants was based on the same evidence, however, only Ghosh and Tanti were convicted, with the other three acquitted. The judge in part relied on Tanti's confession to convict Ghosh of murder and conspiracy, and to convict Tanti of dacoity (robbery) with murder and conspiracy. Tanti was sentenced to life in prison, but the judge sentenced Ghosh to death because he was convicted of plotting to kill his wife. Ghosh and Tanti appealed. On March 16, 2017 the High Court in Calcutta, appellate division, set aside the convictions of Ghosh and Tanti based on the prosecution's failure to introduce sufficient admissible evidence to prove their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, considering their three codefendants were acquitted based on the same evidence. The court also ruled the trial judge erred by considering Tanti's alleged confession that was inadmissible under the provisions of Section 25 of the Evidence Act." |
Conviction Caused By: |
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Innocence Proved By: |
"On March 16, 2017 the High Court in Calcutta, appellate division, set aside the convictions of Ghosh and Tanti based on the prosecution's failure to introduce sufficient admissible evidence to prove their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The court also ruled the trial judge erred by considering Tanti's alleged confession that was inadmissible under the provisions of Section 25 of the Evidence Act." |
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: |
Male |
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Information Source 1: |
"State Of West Bengal vs Avik Ghosh, Death Reference No. 04 of 2015, Avik Ghosh vs. State Of West Bengal, No. CRA 418 of 2015, and Somnath Tanti, No. CRA 361 of 2015 (High Court at Calcutta, Crim. App. Juris., 3-16-2017) (Setting aside convictions of Ghosh and Tanti and acquitting them based on insufficient evidence.)" |
Information Location 1: |
https://indiankanoon.org/doc/56797936/ |
Information Source 2: |
"Death for Oxytown wife murderer, By Special Correspondent, The Telegraph (India), June 12, 2015" |
Information Location 2: |
https://www.telegraphindia.com/1150612/jsp/calcutta/story_25242.jsp |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org