Delhi court convicts man for attempting acid attack on estranged wife

A Delhi court has found a man guilty of attempting to throw acid at his estranged wife and threatening to disfigure her face, stating that the prosecution had built an "airtight, fully corroborated case" against him.

Additional Sessions Judge Hargurvarinder Singh Jaggi convicted Sanoj Yadav under IPC Sections 326B and 506 for attempted acid throwing and criminal intimidation.

In an order dated August 18, the court observed, "The fact that the liquid fell on the street outside the gate, rather than staining the gate itself, is fully consistent with a sudden door closure. The physical bottle recovered from Sanoj's possession was scientifically proven to contain sulphuric and hydrochloric acid. The scientific report leaves no room for doubt."

As per the prosecution, Yadav and his wife Vinita had been living apart since June 2020 due to marital discord and domestic violence.

The court heard that Yadav had allegedly made several threatening phone calls to Vinita, warning that he would throw acid on her face. Two days prior to the incident, she had filed a written complaint with Sangam Vihar police regarding these threats. 

On August 4, 2022, Yadav allegedly showed up outside Vinita's parental home in Sangam Vihar with a bottle containing a yellow liquid. When she opened the gate, he raised his hand in an attempt to throw the liquid at her, but she managed to shut the gate quickly, causing the liquid to spill outside instead.

Police subsequently recovered the bottle from Yadav's possession. Forensic testing confirmed that the liquid contained highly corrosive sulphuric and hydrochloric acid.

The court dismissed the defence's argument that no offence had been committed since Vinita did not sustain any injury, noting that under the relevant provision on attempted acid attacks, actual injury is not a requirement — the attempt itself constitutes a punishable offence.

It also rejected Yadav's claim that he had been drugged after being served tea at his wife's house, pointing out that he failed to provide any medical records or other supporting evidence.

The court held that Vinita's testimony was backed by her mother, brother and daughter, in addition to the forensic evidence and the recovery of the acid bottle.

Yadav has been remanded to judicial custody, with the court set to hear arguments on the quantum of sentence on August 25.  (with inputs from PTI)