Chemistry professor who explained husband's death using science life imprisoned
What's the story
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has upheld the life sentence of a former chemistry lecturer, Mamta Pathak, for murdering her husband, Dr. Neeraj Pathak. The incident took place in April 2021 at their home. He was found dead with multiple electric burn marks. The division bench of Justices Vivek Agarwal and Devnarayan Mishra determined that the accused was not on good terms with her husband and tortured him to death by administering an antipsychotic medicine followed by an electric shock.
Evidence analysis
'Guilt proved beyond all reasonable doubt'
The judges said, "Since all the circumstances in the chain are complete, her guilt is proved beyond all reasonable doubt." They ordered her immediate surrender to serve the remainder of her sentence. "The temporary suspension granted by a Coordinate Bench of this Court vide order dated 13.3.2024 shall stand cancelled. The appellant Smt. Mamta Pathak shall immediately surrender before the Trial Court for undergoing the remaining part of the sentence," the court ordered.
Conviction appeal
Claims of false implication rejected
The case garnered national attention in May when Mamta appeared in person to argue that thermal and electric burns can seem quite similar and that only a proper chemical analysis could show the difference. In particular, she had questioned the postmortem report. She argued that because her husband was resting on a wooden bed with his feet propped up on a plastic chair, all of which were non-conductors of electricity, there was no possibility of an electric current wound.
Twitter Post
Watch the video here
In video: A chemistry professor argues her own case before the MP High Court. She has been accused of murdering her husband by electrocution.
— Deadly Law (@DeadlyLaw) May 27, 2025
Case name: Mamta Pathak vs State of Madhya Pradesh pic.twitter.com/xPIWYapbLR
Evidence dismissal
Court cancels temporary suspension granted in 2024
When the stunned judge asked, "Are you a chemistry professor?" she replied, "Yes." She had also claimed she was falsely implicated by her husband's relatives over property disputes. However, the court rejected these claims, stating that their sons were Class-I heirs to his property and pointing out her history of cruelty toward Dr. Neeraj. The judges also found no merit in her arguments about closed mouth or non-conduct of chemical examination during investigation.
Relationship strain
Mamta fought over husband's alleged infidelity
Further, the judges rejected her argument that Dr. Neeraj's death was caused by the heart ailment he was suffering from. The court noted that the couple's relationship was strained, with Mamta often arguing about alleged infidelity. On the day of his death, Dr. Neeraj called a relative to complain about being tortured by Mamta and locked in a bathroom. At the time, he had also talked about a head injury. The relative alerted authorities, who then intervened at their home.