Madras High Court Quashes Proceedings Against Woman Who Killed Husband For Trying To Sexually Assault Daughter

Justice G Jayachandran noted that on perusing the materials, it was clear that the act was committed under private defence and it was obvious that the woman had committed the alleged offence to save the honour of her daughter.

“From the record, it is obvious that the deceased was drunken state and tried to misbehave with his own daughter. To save the honour of his daughter, the petitioner herein, who is none other than the mother of the girl had committed the above offence,” the court observed.

The court referred to the statement of the daughter along with the photographs and the post-mortem report to conclude that the prosecution under Section 302 of the IPC was erroneous. The court observed that the act was a clear case of private defence which attracted Section 97 of the IPC.

The court noted that as per investigation, the deceased (father) was lying on his daughter and gagging her mouth. The mother, on hearing the sound, tried to pull him but when he did not move, she took a wooden knife and hit him in the back of the head. Further, when the father still refused to move and continued his sexual act, the mother took a hammer and hit him in the head, causing instant death.

The court observed that the witness statements corroborated with the post-mortem report and the statement given by the mother during the investigation.

The court thus opined that the incident was a fit case to be interfered with and accordingly allowed the petition, quashing the criminal case.

Counsel for the Respondent: Mr S.Udaya Kumar, Government Advocate

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Mad) 326

Case Title: Preetha v Inspector of Police and Another

Case No: Crl. O.P.No.15166 of 2024