Thane Court Sentences Woman to Life for Killing Infant Daughter; Husband Gets 4 yrs for Cover-up

Sessions Judge RD Sawant on Wednesday rejected the defence theory that the child died due to a rare skin disorder.

Denying the prosecution's plea that the case fell under the "rarest of rare" category, warranting capital punishment, the court concluded that a sentence of rigorous life imprisonment would serve the ends of justice.

The court convicted Noorani (Khatun) Jahid Shaikh (28) under Indian Penal Code section 302 (murder). The child's father, Jahid Salamat Shaikh (38), was found guilty under IPC section 201 for causing the disappearance of evidence to screen the offender.

The crime took place at the couple's residence in the Mumbra area of Maharashtra's Thane district between March 18 and 19, 2024. It came to light after an anonymous complaint with photographs was sent to the police, triggering a deep forensic probe that led to the exhumation of the toddler's body from a local graveyard.

The prosecution's case rested on medical evidence and the testimonies of the couple's two older daughters, who witnessed their mother assaulting the infant with a sharp kitchen knife. Notably, one of them was also a victim of domestic violence.

The defence claimed that the child died naturally of Epidermolysis Bullosa, a rare genetic skin disorder that causes severe blistering and tearing. The court, however, rejected it based on the medical jurisprudence presented by a doctor who conducted the autopsy post-exhumation.

The post-mortem report indicated 14 distinct, sharp incised wounds over the scalp and neck area of the victim, which were inconsistent with any skin ailment.

The court said that if the offence is committed in complete secrecy inside the house, the nature of evidence required to establish the charge can not be of the same degree as required in other cases of circumstantial evidence.

The accused can not get away by offering an explanation that is not reasonable and probable, it observed.

The manner and nature of the circumstances in which the child died are within the special knowledge of the accused and hence, in view of Section 106 of the Evidence Act, the burden of proving the cause of death in their house is on the accused. The failure of the accused to discharge that burden provides an additional link in establishing the case of prosecution on circumstantial evidence, it said.

On the role of the child's father, the court noted that his initial actions immediately following the stabbing were focused on securing emergency medical treatment for the daughter rather than covering up a crime.

There is no material to show that the accused had caused any injury to the deceased. Therefore, the only allegation against him is that he did not inform the police about the alleged incident and tried to destroy the evidence, it said.

However, after the infant succumbed to her wounds, he actively assisted his wife by obtaining a death certificate under a false history and orchestrating a hurried burial to screen the crime from legal punishment, the court pointed out.

Accepting the evidence of the minors, the court held that a competent and reliable child witness can form the sole basis of a conviction.

Additional Public Prosecutor Rashmi Kshirsagar examined 16 witnesses to prove the charges.