Case Law
Subject : Criminal Law - Evidence Law
GUWAHATI:
The Gauhati High Court has acquitted two individuals, Md
The court gave the benefit of doubt to
The case dates back to March 17, 2004, when businessman
The investigation, initially handled by the state police, was transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2005 following a Public Interest Litigation. The CBI's probe led to the recovery of skeletal remains, identified as Dev's through a pacemaker and other evidence, and the arrest of several individuals. The trial court convicted the appellants, sentencing them to life imprisonment under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including
Counsel for the Acquitted Appellants (
Counsel for the Convicted Appellants (Sahadev and Rupdhan): Arguments were made questioning the integrity of the forensic evidence, particularly the DNA match, and the validity of the Test Identification Parades (TIPs). They also contended that the confessional statements were made under duress and were too vague to be reliable.
CBI's Submissions: The CBI, represented by its Special Public Prosecutor, argued that the case was proven through a combination of direct and circumstantial evidence. They cited eyewitness testimonies from the surviving victims of the abduction, who had identified the accused. The CBI maintained that the confessional statements, disclosure statements leading to recoveries, and the testimony of hostile witnesses (in parts that supported the prosecution) formed a complete chain of circumstances proving the guilt of all accused.
The High Court meticulously dissected the evidence against each appellant.
On Acquittal of
Applying the principles laid down in
> "In dealing with a case against an accused-person, the Court cannot start with the confession of co-accused person but it must begin with other evidence adduced by the prosecution... confession can only be used to lend assurance to other evidence against a co-accused."
Finding no independent material evidence to corroborate the confessional statements against
On Upholding Conviction of Sahadev and Rupdhan:
In contrast, the court found that the case against
> "We have, however observed that the said appellant has been clearly implicated by PW1 and PW4 who are eye-witnesses by deposing that the appellant-Rupdhan had taken part in the kidnapping in which, they were themselves victims and they had also identified the present appellant... Therefore, even if the disclosure statement made and the confession by the appellant are overlooked, the evidence of the PW1, PW3 and PW4, who appear to be trustworthy, would remain."
The court concluded that the direct identification by multiple eyewitnesses, who had no reason to falsely implicate them, was sufficient to uphold their conviction, irrespective of the challenges to the confessional and forensic evidence.
The High Court allowed the appeals of Md
#AccompliceEvidence #Section30EvidenceAct #GauhatiHighCourt
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