Mumbai: For over 27 years, Ramprakash @ Popat Govind Manohar lived with the stigma of being branded a convict for allegedly driving his wife to suicide. This week, the Bombay High Court finally cleared his name, ruling that there was no evidence to show he had subjected his wife to cruelty or abetted her death.

Justice Milind Sathaye set aside the 1998 judgment of the Additional Sessions Judge, Pune, which had sentenced Manohar to three years’ rigorous imprisonment under Sections 306 (abetment of suicide) and 498-A (cruelty) of the Indian Penal Code. His mother, a co-accused, had been acquitted at the time.

Case Background

The case dates back to May 1997, when Manohar married Rekha. Barely six months later, she was found dead in a river near Pune. The prosecution alleged that Rekha was

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