Ex-chemistry prof who used science to defend herself after husband's murder gets life term: Who is Mamta Pathak?

A former chemistry professor’s life sentence for killing her husband has been upheld by the Madhya Pradesh High Court. Mamta Pathak, a 65-year-old woman, was convicted in 2022 for the murder of her husband by electrocution.

The division bench of Justices Vivek Agarwal and Devnarayan Mishra dismissed her appeal, ruling that she killed her husband, Neeraj Pathak, a retired government doctor. The case had grabbed attention after a video of Mamta Pathak arguing for herself in the courtroom went viral online.

Let’s take a closer look.

What’s the case?

On April 29, 2021, Dr Neeraj Pathak was found dead at his Loknathpuram house in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhatarpur. The autopsy found that the cause of his demise was electrocution.

Police grew suspicious about Mamta due to her behaviour on the day of Dr Neeraj’s death. She had left with her son in the morning for Jhansi for dialysis, without informing anyone about her husband’s demise. The woman also told her driver that she had made a “big mistake”, Indian Express reported, citing court documents.

Mamta, a professor at a local government college, was arrested within days for murder and booked under Section 302 (punishment for murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The trial was held at the Chhatarpur district court. Dr Neeraj’s relative told the court that the doctor had called him hours before his death, saying: “Mamta is harassing me… she has locked me in the bathroom and hasn’t given me food or water.”

On June 26, 2022, the district court found Mamta guilty of her husband’s murder based on witness testimonies and the recovery of a plug-in wire and sleeping pills at her residence, the newspaper reported.

Additional Sessions Judge Rajesh Kumar Devaliya convicted her to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000.

Mamta filed an appeal seeking suspension of sentence before the High Court’s Jabalpur Bench.

How Mamta Pathak defended herself before HC

On March 12, 2024, Mamta presented her arguments before the Madhya Pradesh High Court. The former professor argued that the prosecution’s case was based on circumstantial evidence linking her to her husband’s death, pointing out that there was no direct evidence or eyewitnesses.

Seeking suspension of sentence and bail, she furnished medical records to highlight her health issues, including suspected bone cancer. Mamta also told the high court that she was the sole caregiver for her mentally and physically ill son.

The court then temporarily suspended her sentence, granting her bail for six months. Her bail was extended again in August last year.

Her video challenging the post-mortem report during a hearing went viral in May this year. The clip showed Justice Vivek Agrawal asking Mamta at the time, “The allegations against you are that you murdered your husband through electrocution. The post-mortem doctor has categorically said there were signs of electric shock.”

Mamta told the court that it is “not possible to differentiate between thermal and electric burn marks during a post-mortem”. She went on to explain that only a proper chemical analysis could determine the source.

“Are you a chemistry professor?” the judge asked. To which, she replied: “Yes”.

Mamta added, “I don’t know how the post-mortem has said this is an electric burn mark.”

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HC upholds Mamta Pathak’s life term

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Tuesday (July 29) upheld the former chemistry professor’s conviction in the murder case of her husband.

The bench ruled that Mamta was not on good terms with Dr Neeraj. It found she tortured him to death by giving him an antipsychotic drug and then an electric shock, as per a Bar and Bench report.

The court asked her to immediately surrender before the trial court. It also dismissed her submission that her husband died from a cardiovascular disease.

The bench also rejected her claim that she was falsely implicated by her husband’s relatives, who were after his property. The court said that the couple’s sons are Class-I heirs to Dr Neeraj’s property.

The motive for the murder, the court found, was marital discord with Mamta suspecting her husband of having an affair.

With inputs from agencies