The Supreme Court has exonerated Monika Kiran Suryawanshi of charges related to her husband's 2007 murder. The bench ruled that telephone call records alone do not provide sufficient proof for conviction.
A bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Prasanna B. Varale upheld the Bombay High Court's 2010 acquittal of Monika Kiran Suryawanshi. The court dismissed appeals by the Maharashtra government. It found the prosecution's circumstantial evidence too weak to sustain a murder conviction.
The case dates back to February 2007 when banker Kiran Suryawanshi was killed. Prosecutors alleged Monika conspired with her neighbour Prakash and another man after an extramarital affair. They claimed she sedated her husband before he was assaulted with a grinding stone.
The Supreme Court noted inconsistencies in the evidence. No outgoing calls from Monika's phone appeared in records on the night of the incident. Post-mortem findings also contradicted claims that the murder occurred in the couple's bed.
The court affirmed convictions of Prakash and the other co-accused under Section 201 of the Indian Penal Code for tampering with evidence. Both had already served their sentences.
