KOCHI: The Kerala High Court has acquitted a woman who was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for allegedly killing her newborn shortly after its birth in 2009 and disposing of the body in an abandoned property nearby. While setting aside the conviction, the court observed that the possibility of the involvement of a third party in the crime could not be ruled out.
The court said, “The prosecution is in total darkness as to what had actually happened on the fateful day between 10 am and 12.30 pm, whether the accused gave birth to a child and, if so, who committed the murder and who concealed the body in the property of Sumayya. The possibility of intervention by a third party in the commission of the crime cannot be ruled out in the case on hand.”
The court further noted that there was no material to show that the accused was physically capable of walking around 100 metres after delivering the child or that she was seen proceeding to or returning from the property where the body was found. The order was passed while allowing the appeal filed by Sabeena G K of Kozhikode, challenging the life sentence imposed by the Additional Sessions Court, Kozhikode.
According to the prosecution, Sabeena smothered and strangled her newborn to death inside a bathroom near her husband’s house soon after delivery and later disposed of the body in a nearby property.
The High Court, however, found several gaps in the prosecution case.