High Court for States of Andhra Pradesh & Telangana: In a dismal case of a mother strangling her two children to death and attempting to commit suicide on account of sheer frustration of her husband abandoning the family and the children persistently enquiring about their father, a Bench comprising CV Nagarjuna Reddy and Uma Devi, JJ. held that the mother was guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, S. 304 of the Penal Code and also of attempt to commit suicide, S. 309 IPC.
Relying on the confession made by the appellant, the Court declared that the frustration of the appellant had turned into sudden provocation which made her take both the children’s lives and attempt to take her own. Therefore, the Court upheld the lower court’s finding of guilt under S. 309 but modified the conviction under S.302 (Punishment for Murder) to S. 304 part I (Culpable Homicide not amounting to Murder). She was further directed to serve a sentence of rigorous imprisonment for seven years. [Dudapaka Haritha v. State of Andhra Pradesh, 2017 SCC OnLine Hyd 210, decided on June 5, 2017]
