Ahmedabad court sentences husband, in-laws to 3 years in jail for attempted poisoning of woman

A City Civil and Sessions Court in Ahmedabad has convicted and sentenced 3 years jail to four family members for physical and mental harassment, dowry demands, and the attempted murder of a woman and her minor daughter.

The victim got married in 2007. Following the birth of their daughter, in 2010, the victim developed medical complications that required the removal of her uterus, leaving her unable to conceive again. Consequently, her in-laws began subjecting her to severe mental and physical harassment, constantly demanding a male heir.

The situation escalated when her husband, mother-in-law and father-in-law demanded ₹3 lakh to fund her sister-in-law's upcoming wedding. When the victim returned to her marital home on November 1, 2012, and stated her family could not arrange the money, she was allegedly violently attacked. 

Her mother-in-law and sister-in-law pinned her down, and husband forced her mouth open, and father-in-law attempted to force her to drink a toxic chemical, later revealed to be an organophosphorus pesticide. Some of the poison entered her mouth, while the rest spilled onto her clothes and her two-year-old daughter, who was nearby.

The doctor confirmed that both the victim and her daughter were admitted to the Civil Hospital under emergency conditions with organophosphorus poisoning. The victim required ventilator support from November 2 to November 16, 2012, confirming the life-threatening nature of the assault.

The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) officer, recovered the chemical bottle containing the blue toxic liquid from the residence, matching the stains found on the floor and the victims' clothing.

Despite the defense arguing that the allegations were fabricated due to matrimonial discord and subsequent divorce, the court rejected the claims. The court emphasized that the medical history recorded immediately upon hospital admission explicitly named the accused, eliminating the possibility of an afterthought.

The court found husband, mother-in-law, father-in-law and sister-in-law of victim guilty under Sections 498(A) (cruelty by husband or relatives), 307 (attempt to murder), 328, 341, and 114 of the Indian Penal Code, alongside Sections 3 and 7 of the Dowry Prohibition Act.