Kalpetta: The Additional District and Sessions Court-II in Wayanad has directed the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) to facilitate compensation of ₹16 lakh to the legal heirs of a woman who died after allegedly being poisoned by a man accused of raping her.

Judge Jayawanth L held that the abatement of criminal proceedings following the accused's death does not, by itself, disentitle the victim's legal heirs to compensation. The court observed that the justice system has a responsibility to consider the loss suffered by victims and their families even when a criminal trial cannot reach its conclusion.

The case involved the alleged rape of a woman with an intellectual disability, her subsequent pregnancy and her death after she allegedly consumed a soft drink laced with insecticide. The accused died on August 8, 2026, while the trial was in progress.

Murder of pregnant woman and unborn baby
According to the prosecution case, Rahim, 51, son of Moosa, a native of Edavaka under the Mananthavadi police station limits, allegedly raped the woman in June 2021. The woman, who was divorced, had an intellectual disability. The accused allegedly gained the confidence of her mother and sisters by posing as someone willing to help her before subjecting her to repeated sexual assault.

The woman subsequently became pregnant. Fearing the consequences of the pregnancy becoming known, the accused allegedly gave her a soft drink mixed with the insecticide chlorpyrifos and some old tablets.

After consuming the drink on November 17, 2021, the woman was admitted to the District Hospital in Mananthavady and later referred to Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode. The pregnancy was aborted, and the woman died that afternoon.

A case was initially registered as an unnatural death. The alleged involvement of the accused came to light during the subsequent investigation. The accused died before the trial could be completed.

‘Abatement of trial does not extinguish the right to compensation’
The judge observed that a trial that begins but cannot reach a conclusion because of the accused's death has the same effect on the victim as a trial that never began.

The loss suffered by the family remains the same, even though the possibility of punishing the accused disappears, the judgment noted.

Referring to the absence of an express provision in the Code of Criminal Procedure or the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) specifically addressing compensation in such circumstances, the court observed that neither code prohibits a court from making an appropriate order when a trial abates.

When the law is silent on a particular contingency, a court should examine whether anything prohibits it from doing what justice requires rather than plead helplessness merely because there is no specific provision authorising such action, the judgment said.

Scientific evidence examined, but guilt not determined
The court examined the case diary statements, testimony recorded during the proceedings, DNA report, chemical analysis reports, post-mortem reports of the woman and the foetus, and the woman's psychological assessment.

However, as the accused died before the trial could be completed, and the investigating officer had not yet been examined by the court, the proceedings did not culminate in a finding on the accused's guilt. The court recommended that the DLSA follow the applicable legal guidelines in tune with the order and procedures to facilitate compensation for the woman's two sisters and aged mother.

The woman's elder sister is living in a rehabilitation centre and has bipolar disorder and seizure-related health problems. An inmate of a rehabilitation centre, the woman needs ₹8,000 per month for her treatment and care. Their aged mother, who suffers from age-related ailments, lives with the other sister.

‘A rare verdict that offers a measure of justice’
Sulthan Bathery DySP Abdul Karim, who was the investigating officer in the case, described the judgment as a rare instance of the justice system extending relief to the family of an alleged sexual assault victim despite the accused's death during trial.

“I salute the spirit of humanity reflected in the verdict. The judge explored all possible avenues within the legal framework to ensure relief for the victim's family despite the death of the accused,” he said.

Karim said he was relieved that the investigative findings and scientific evidence, although they could not lead to a conviction because the trial remained inconclusive, had helped the victim’s family secure a measure of justice.

The compensation, he added, could not fully address the family's loss, but it would provide some relief to those left behind.