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SANJAY KUMAR, K. VINOD CHANDRAN
Sadek Ali @ Md. Sadek Ali – Appellant
Versus
State of Assam – Respondent
Question 1? How to assess credibility of eyewitnesses and determine whether there is credible evidence to substantiate a murder/conspiracy case? Question 2? What is the standard for the admissibility and reliability of FIR/ GD entries versus formal FIR under Cr.P.C.? Question 3? What are the legal consequences when the investigation is deemed inept or script-based, impacting convictions in murder/attempted murder cases?
Key Points: - The judgment notes that there is no credible evidence to sustain the murder/related charges due to unreliable eyewitnesses and inconsistencies (!) (!) (!) . - It emphasizes issues with investigation timing, FIR vs GD/ FIS entries, and delayed or improperly registered FIRs, casting doubt on the prosecution case (!) (!) (!) (!) (!) . - It discusses the absence of weapon forensic analysis and lack of corroboration between postmortem findings, injuries, and weapon evidence (!) (!) . - It highlights problems with collection and reliability of statements under Cr.P.C. sections 161 and 164 and the overall procedure of investigation (!) (!) (!) . - The High Court and trial court acceptance of eyewitness testimony based on early GD entries is challenged, leading to acquittal of appellants (!) (!) (!) . - The judgment critiques the role of police and investigation quality, urging better investigation practices (!) (!) . - The result of the Appeals is allowed, with acquittal of the appellants and cancellation of bail bonds (!) . - The postmortem and injury details support the homicidal conclusion but are not enough given other irregularities (!) (!) (!) .
JUDGMENT :
K. VINOD CHANDRAN, J.
1. An inept investigation or a scripted enquiry, both are fatal to criminal prosecution; but the latter has lethal consequences when there is a possibility of totally innocent persons being crucified. In the present case 16 persons were charge-sheeted as accused, of which one died during the trial. Out of the remaining, 12 were convicted and sentenced under Sections 147, 341, 326, 307, 323 and 302 read with Section 149 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.1 [For brevity ‘IPC’] Eighteen witnesses were examined before the trial court, of which six were eyewitnesses: one disbelieved by the trial court and the High Court. The defense examined two witnesses and denied their culpability. The appellants are the convicted accused, two of whom have passed away.
2. Ms. Vibha Datta Makhija, learned Senior Counsel for some of the appellants, emphasized that though a GD entry was made and immediately police went to the place of occurrence (P.O) the FIR was registered after three days on the written complaint of PW1 naming all the accused: clearly making the arraignment after due deliberation. The investigation was commenced on the GD entry, but the prosecution is based o
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