MP HC UPHOLDS CONVICTION OF CHEMISTRY TEACHER FOR MURDERING HER HUSBAND BY ELECTROCUTION

It is definitely entirely in the fitness of things that the Madhya Pradesh High Court at Jabalpur in a most learned, laudable, landmark, logical and latest judgment titled Mamta Pathak vs The State of Madhya Pradesh in Criminal Appeal No. 6016 of 2022 and cited in Neutral Citation No. 2025:MPHC-JBP:34674 that was heard on 29.4.2025 and then finally pronounced on 29.7.2025 has deemed it fit to uphold the conviction of a Chemistry women teacher who was earlier sentenced to life imprisonment in 2022 for brutally murdering her husband by electrocution.

- SANJEEV SIROHI

It must be mentioned here that the Division Bench comprising of Hon'ble Mr Justice Vivek Agarwal and Hon'ble Mr Justice Devnarayan Mishra after hearing both the sides and analyzing all evidence before them concluded that the accused named Mamta Pathak was not on good terms with her sixty-five-year-old husband Dr Neeraj Pathak who was posted in Chattarpur District Hospital and tortured him to death on April 29, 2021 at his home in Loknathpuram Colony by first giving him an antipsychotic drug followed by an electric shock. His body bore signs of electricity burn marks detected at multiple places. Quite indisputably, the Court thus mandated after perusing everything pertaining to this leading case that since all the circumstances in the chain are complete, her guilt is proved beyond all reasonable doubt. Very rightly so!

At the very outset, this brief, brilliant, bold and balanced judgment authored by one of the most eminent High Court Judges in India with stellar reputation for his excellent judgments Hon'ble Mr Justice Vivek Agarwal for a Division Bench comprising of himself and Hon'ble Mr Justice Devnarayan Mishra of Madhya Pradesh High Court at Jabalpur sets the ball in motion by first and foremost putting forth concisely in para 1 that, "This appeal under Section 374(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short "Cr.P.C") is filed being aggrieved of judgment of conviction dated 29.6.2022 passed by learned III Additional Sessions Judge, Chhatarpur in Sessions Trial No.84/2021 convicting the appellant in person Smt. Mamta Pathak, W/o. Late Dr. Neeraj Pathak for the offence under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (for short "I.P.C") and sentencing her to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life with fine of Rs. 10,000/ and in default of payment of fine to undergo additional imprisonment for six months."