SUHAIB ILYASI ACQUITTED IN WIFE’S MURDER

NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court Friday acquitted former TV anchor and producer Suhaib Ilyasi, who was earlier convicted by a trial court of murdering his wife, stating that it was not a case of homicide and the motive has not been established.

A bench of justice S Muralidhar and justice Vinod Goel overturned the trial court conviction. The trial court had convicted Ilyasi on December 20, 2017, and awarded him life imprisonment for murdering his wife Anju Ilyasi in January 2000.

However, the high court in its 112-page order said, “…the medical evidence does not conclusively prove that it is a case of homicide. Thus an important link in the chain of circumstances has not been proved by the prosecution. The forensic evidence does not link the accused to the killing of the deceased in the manner suggested by the prosecution. The motive for the crime too has not been established.”

On the intervening night of January 10-11, 2000, Anju had succumbed to stab injuries at the AIIMS. According to the police, the couple had allegedly fought before her death. The autopsy report, however, couldn’t establish if it was a suicide or murder despite taking the opinions from two medical boards.

An FIR was registered on the complaint of the Anju’s mother Rukma Singh, who had alleged that her daughter was harassed for dowry.

The court charged Suhaib of culpable homicide not amounting to murder (304B, IPC) along with 498a, IPC.

Dissatisfied with the charges, the mother filed a plea in the trial court for framing additional charges under Section 302, IPC (murder).

While setting Ilyasi free, the bench said, “The report of the five-member medical board contains no specific reasons for the conclusion that the preponderance of evidence in this case points towards “commission of homicide”.