India, Nov. 7 -- After living under the shadow of conviction for over 27 years, Ramprakash @ Popat Govind Manohar has finally been acquitted by the Bombay High Court, which ruled that there was no evidence of cruelty or abetment in the suicide of his wife, Rekha.

Justice Milind Sathaye set aside the 1998 judgment delivered by a Pune sessions court that had sentenced Manohar to three years' rigorous imprisonment under Sections 306 (abetment of suicide) and 498-A (cruelty) of the Indian Penal Code. His mother, who was also charged in the case, had been acquitted earlier.

The case dates back to May 1997, when Manohar married Rekha. Just six months later, she was found dead in a river near Pune. The prosecution had claimed Rekha was harasse...