HC Upholds Life Sentence of Man Convicted of Killing Wife

By Our Correspondent

Agartala, August 21, 2026

The Tripura High Court has upheld the conviction and life sentence of a man for murdering his wife and concealing her body in a gunny bag inside their hut.

A Division Bench of Justice Dr T Amarnath Goud and Justice S Datta Purkayastha dismissed an appeal filed by Gopal Das against his conviction by the Additional Sessions Judge, Khowai, under Sections 302 and 201 of the IPC.

The trial court had sentenced him to life imprisonment with a fine of Rs 25,000 for murder and five years' rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs 10,000 for causing disappearance of evidence. The sentences were to run concurrently.

The High Court held that although the prosecution case rested on circumstantial evidence, the circumstances established a complete chain pointing towards Das's guilt.

The court noted that witnesses had seen Das at or near the hut shortly before the body was recovered, while he disappeared immediately after the discovery. There was also no evidence of forced entry by an outsider.

Medical evidence established that Jayanti Das died from asphyxia caused by pressure on her neck, ruling out accidental or suicidal death.

The Bench said Section 106 of the Indian Evidence Act applied, as the circumstances of the wife's death inside the private hut were especially within the husband's knowledge. His failure to explain her death during his Section 313 CrPC examination, along with his disappearance and prolonged evasion for about 10-11 years, constituted significant links in the circumstantial evidence.

The court found no material irregularity in the trial court's findings and dismissed the appeal.

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