The Allahabad High Court acquitted three individuals in a 44-year-old murder case. The Bench, comprising Justice Siddhartha Varma and Justice Vinod Diwakar, concluded that the prosecution failed to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The lengthy duration of the case and insufficient evidence led to the acquittal.
The Allahabad High Court convicted three individuals who had been found guilty of a murder committed in 1980. According to the judgment delivered by a Bench comprising Justice Siddhartha Varma and Justice Vinod Diwakar, the prosecution unable to establish the case against the accused beyond a reasonable doubt.
The High Court’s decision set aside the 1982 verdict of the Muzaffarnagar trial court, which sentenced the three accused to life imprisonment. The Court noted that whenever doubts are raised in the mind of the court, the benefit of that doubt must be given to the accused.
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This ruling highlights the importance of a fair and thorough judicial process, where the burden of proof lies with the prosecution, and the rights of the accused are duly considered.
The Court stated,
“We believe that convicting the appellants would be unsafe when the prosecution has failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. Given the doubt created in the Court’s mind after reviewing all the evidence, the appeal should be allowed, leading to the appellants’ acquittal.”
The case originates from January 8, 1980, when a missing person report for Ajay Kumar filed at the Muzaffarnagar police station. Preliminary investigations revealed that Kumar had been missing since January 6, 1980, after he went to visit his friend, Rajesh Kumar.
The First Information Report (FIR) noted that Rajesh Kumar also untraceable. Subsequently, the missing person case was reclassified as an abduction case under Section 364 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Rajesh apprehended and subsequently led the police to Ajay Kumar‘s body. Kumar’s remains were discovered in a room rented by another suspect, Ombir, a friend of Rajesh. A piece of plastic found wrapped around Kumar’s neck, and a cloth was discovered stuffed in his mouth.
Subsequently, charges of murder and destruction/disappearance of evidence under Sections 302 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) added against the accused.
On June 30, 1982, the trial court found the accused guilty and sentenced them to life imprisonment. Dissatisfied with the verdict, the trio appealed their conviction in the High Court.
The High Court observed that Rajesh’s recovery statement did not imply his involvement in concealing the weapon.
The Court remarked,
“Mere discovery cannot be interpreted as sufficient to infer authorship of concealment by the person who discovered the weapon. He could have derived knowledge of the existence of that weapon at the place through some other source also. He might have even seen somebody concealing the weapon, and, therefore, it cannot be presumed or inferred that because a person discovered the weapon, he was the person who had concealed it, least it can be presumed that he used it.”
The Court observed that the motive for the murder not compelling and that the testimony of the witnesses who last saw the accused unreliable.
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Consequently, the Court concluded that the prosecution had failed to establish the case beyond a reasonable doubt, leading to the acquittal of the accused.
Senior Advocate Brijesh Sahai, along with advocates Rahul Sharma, Sunil Vashisth, DN Wali, Bhavya Sahai, D Singhal, NN Wali, Neeraj Tomar, Om Singh Tomar, PS Pundir, and Patanjali Mishra, represented the appellants.
Additional Government Advocate Amit Sinha and advocate Mayuri Mehrotra represented the State of Uttar Pradesh.
Read Judgement