HC trashes taxi driver accused of murdering his wife

Highlights: He claimed that he was in an inebriated state.

​BENGALURU: A taxi driver N Mahesh Raju who is accused of murdering his wife, has claimed that he was in an inebriated state, by looking for the reduction of punishment being awarded to him. The high court has trashed his claim by pointing out that there was nothing on record to show that he was drunk when the crime was committed. 

A division bench which was headed by Justice KN Phaneendra has observed that, “It should be established before the court, by means of at least probabilities that on that day, the accused was fully drunk and enraged by his wife’s words, he might have lost his patience and mental balance and committed such an offence.”

Mahesh and Chandrakala alias Roopa were wedded in 2000 and the couple conceived two daughters. They were residing in a house close to Jala Gangamma temple in Vyalikaval.

The HC added that, in any criminal case, the evidence that the accused was a drunkard in itself will not help him in any manner, including for lessening the punishment awarded to him. 

Bhaskar Raju the brother of Chandrakala had registered a complaint with the Vyalikaval police on February 21, 2012, stating that his sister was done to death by her husband Mahesh. The body of Chandrakala was found in Mahesh’s car and injury marks have been noticed on the body. 

Mahesh was arrested on February 23, 2012. After examining 21 witnesses, a city fast-track court on August 6, 2014, sentenced him to life imprisonment and levied a fine of Rs 5,000.