R v Ahluwalia
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judgment Date | 31 July 1992 |
| Date | 31 July 1992 |
| Court | Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) |
Court of Appeal
Before Lord Taylor of Gosforth, Lord Chief Justice, Mr Justice Swinton Thomas and Mr Justice Judge
Criminal procedure - appeal - power to admit fresh evidence
On an appeal againt conviction in 1989 for murder, the Court of Appeal considered it expedient in the interests of justice to use power under section 23(1) of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 to admit fresh evidence of the appellant's endogenous depression, which some experts would term a major depressive disorder, at the material time, quashed the conviction and ordered a retrial at the Central Criminal Court as soon as practible. Bail was refused.
Lord Taylor of Gosforth, Lord Chief Justice, giving the reserved judgment of the court, said that the case was tragic and most unusual and it was unclear why a medical report of the appellant's condition, which was available before the trial, came to be overlooked or not further pursued at the time.
The appeal was brought by Kiranjit Ahluwalia, aged 36, who was found guilty by a 10 to 2 majority, after a seven-day trial on her plea of guilty to manslaughter but not guilty to murder, which was unacceptable to the prosecution, at Lewes Crown Court (Mr Justice Leonard and a jury) of the murder of her husband by throwing petrol in his bedroom and setting it alight. He sustained burns from which he died six days later, on May 15, 1989.
Section 23(1) provides: "… the Court of Appeal may, if they think it necessary or expedient in the interests of justice … (c) … receive the evidence, if tendered, of any witness."
Mr Geoffrey Robertson, QC and Mr Andrew Nicol for the appellant; Mr Robert Harman, QC and Mr Malcolm Fortune for the Crown.
THE LORD CHIEF JUSTICE said that, leave to appeal had been granted only in September 1991, well out of time.
The appellant had suffered violence and abuse from the deceased from the outset of the marriage. He was a big man, she was slight and her complaints of violence were supported by entries in her doctor's notes. There were two children, one born in 1984, the other in 1986.
She discovered in March 1989 that he was having an affair with a woman who worked with him at the Post Office. He taunted the appellant with that relationship. Despite all that, she wished to hold the marriage together, partly for the sake of the children.
On the evening of May 8 she tried to talk to him about their relationship but he refused, indicating that it was over. He demanded money from her and threatened to beat her if she did not give him £200 the next morning, began to iron some clothes and threatened to burn her face with the hot iron if...
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