Bombay HC Upholds Conviction Of Woman For Killing 3-Year-Old, Attempting To Drown 3 Other Children After Their Grandmother Failed To Repay Loan

Mumbai: Upholding the conviction of a 51-year-old woman for killing her neighbour’s 3-year-old grandchild and attempting to murder three other grandchildren over failure to repay an illegal loan, the Bombay High Court has said that it is not inclined to believe that it was an “unfortunate incident”. The high court also observed that throwing a three-year-old child into the canal is so imminently dangerous that the appellant had knowledge that it would cause his death. 

A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Gauri Godse recently dismissed the appeal filed by Sangita Kiwade challenging her conviction by the sessions court in Pune for throwing the four children in a canal, leading to the death of the youngest one. 

The bench observed: “We are therefore not inclined to accept the submissions made on behalf of the appellant that the appellant had not taken the children with the intention to commit the crime and that it was an unfortunate incident.”

"Appellant had knowledge that, in all probabilities, it would cause death"

“The evidence on record clearly reveals that the act of throwing three-year-old child Tejas into the canal was so imminently dangerous that the appellant had knowledge that, in all probabilities, it would cause his death,” the judges said, adding: “Thus, the death of Tejas squarely falls within the definition of murder under Section 300 of IPC, and it does not fall under any of the exceptions. Therefore, it amounts to culpable homicide amounting to murder.” 

On March 1, 2014, the sessions judge at Pune convicted her to life in prison after finding her guilty of murder, attempt to murder and kidnapping. She was also found guilty under the Bombay Money Lending Act for operating an illegal money lending business. She challenged this before the HC.

Here is what happened:

According to the prosecution, Kiwade gave ₹50,000 as illegal loan to one Nanda, who resided in her neighborhood, at 10 percent per annum interest. Since Nanda could not repay the money, Kiwade held a grudge and hence kidnapped her four grandchildren aged nine, seven, five and three years, on November 18, 2010, under the pretext of taking them for ice cream. Since the kids did not return, the family started searching for them. 

Between 8:15 pm and 8:30 pm, police reached Nanda’s house with three of the children. The children alleged that Kiwade took them in an auto-rickshaw to a canal in Nagar, Pune and pushed them into it. They also said that Kiwade’s minor daughter, who was present at the scene, tried to stop her mother. Kiwade was arrested by police for kidnapping and attempted murder. 

Three days later, the police recovered remains of the 3-year-old child from the canal near Mahadev temple at Shinde Vasti, Hadapsar, Pune. 

Kiwade was subsequently booked on charges of murder and illegal money lending. 

The children recounted before the trial court how Kiwade pushed three of them in the canal, but the fourth bit her and managed to escape and seek help. Thus, two of the drowning children were rescued, but the youngest child could not be saved. 

The HC ruled out the possibility of tutoring in the children’s testimonies and opined that the evidence of the witnesses is cogent, natural, trustworthy and inspires confidence. Besides, Kiwade failed to show that she had any valid license for lending money on interest, the court added while dismissing her appeal.