Representative image showing a gavel.
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Cuttack: The Orissa High Court upheld the life sentence awarded to former legislator Ram Murti Gomango who was convicted by a special MP-MLA court of murdering his wife five years ago.
The charred body of Gomango’s wife Sashirekha was recovered from the bathroom of the MLA’s official residence in Bhubaneswar in August 2019 and he had claimed that she died by suicide.
The Bhubaneswar-based special court had convicted the politician under IPC Sections 302 (murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) and sentenced him to life imprisonment. The court also slapped on him a fine of Rs 10,000.
Gomango challenged the verdict before the high court.
"The conviction stands firmly substantiated," said a high court division bench comprising Justices S K Sahoo and Chittaranjan Dash on Wednesday.
The bench observed that the prosecution has established, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the convict intentionally caused death to his wife, who was reportedly pregnant at that time.
The forensic findings, including antemortem injuries on the head of the deceased, negate any hypothesis other than intentional homicide, the court said.
"Since the sentence awarded is absolutely in accordance with law, there is nothing to interfere with," the bench said dismissing the appeal of Gomango who is now out on bail.
The high court directed the convict to surrender before the trial court and deposit the fine amount.
"In case the convict fails to surrender, the trial court shall proceed in accordance with law," the bench said.
Gomango had first won the Gunupur (ST) Assembly seat in Raygada district in 1990 on the then Janata Dal ticket.
When Janata Dal merged with Biju Janata Dal (BJD), he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. As a BJP candidate, Ram Murti won the Gunupur seat again in the 2000 elections. He had unsuccessfully contested the 2004, 2009 and 2014 elections.