India: Woman, partner jailed for life after court accepts child witness account

The courtroom fell quiet as the judge read out the sentence: life imprisonment for a woman and her partner, convicted of murdering her husband in a case prosecutors said hinged on an account no one expected to carry such weight — the testimony of a seven-year-old child.

The case centers on events from March 2024, when the family traveled to Lucknow and checked into a hotel. Investigators allege the victim’s condition worsened after he was given a drink mixed with a harmful substance under the pretext of medicine. He was taken to a hospital and later died, according to the prosecution narrative presented in court.

Prosecutors said the child — then a primary school student — described seeing her mother mix something into the water given to her father. A government counsel said that the child’s statement became a key piece of evidence, alongside other testimony and records. The court also recorded statements from hotel staff, which prosecutors cited as part of the broader evidentiary trail.

The investigation expanded beyond the family’s travel timeline. Police placed mobile phones linked to the accused and the deceased under surveillance and, according to the prosecution, traced activity showing the partner using the victim’s phone — a detail investigators said helped track location and sequence.

A parallel account in The Times of India described how the victim’s father filed a missing-person report after family explanations did not align with the absence of contact. The report also said investigators concluded the body was cremated without informing the family, and the accused were arrested in April 2024, with a charge sheet filed later that year.

The defence has said it will challenge the ruling. The Indian Express reported that counsel for the accused stated an appeal would be filed against the judgment.