S N DATAL vs STATE OF MAHARASHTRA — Crl.A. No. 860/1997

Case Summary: S N Datal v. State of Maharashtra (Crl.A. No. 860/1997) Outcome: The Supreme Court allowed the appeal on December 9, 2003, acquitting appellant S.N. Datal of charges under Section 498-A IPC (cruelty to wife). The Court found the evidence—primarily a dying declaration and investigative irregularities—legally insufficient to establish responsibility for his wife Sunita's death. Bail bonds were cancelled and any fine remitted shall be refunded. Reasoning: The Court held that the second dying declaration was vulnerable to doubt regarding possible tutoring by relatives, and the delayed FIR filing, absence of strained marital relations, and investigator obtaining blank signatures created reasonable suspicion of manipulation and improper investigation. This case analysis is maintained by casestatus.in based on publicly available court records.