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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU
K.S.MUDAGAL, VENKATESH NAIK T.
S. Shekar, S/o. Muddaiaha – Appellant
Versus
State, By Nazarbad Police Station, Rep. By Its State Public Prosecutor – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
K.S.MUDAGAL, J.
1. Appellants were accused Nos.1 and 2 in SC No.67/2017 on the file of IV Addl. Sessions Judge, Mysore. They were tried in the said case for the offence punishable under Sections 302 and 397 of IPC read with 34 on the basis of the charge sheet filed by Nazarabad Police Station in Crime No.354/2016 of their Police Station.
2. For the purpose of convenience, the parties are referred to henceforth according to their ranks before the Trial Court.
3. The charge against accused was that accused Nos.1, 2 and absconding accused/Kunta were migrant labourers. On the night of 21.10.2016 they tried to rob some transgenders near People’s Park College situated in Nazarabad Mohalla, Mysore. Those transgenders raising commotion escaped. Hence the accused entered the room of Venkatarangaiah/security guard in People's Park College. They tried to steal his mobile phone and run away. But Venkatarangaiah woke up and questioned. The accused strangulated him with towel, assaulted him with stones and blade and committed his murder. Then they tried to rob cash from PW.15 who was sleeping in the next room and assaulted him and escaped.
4. Respondent/police had filed charge sheet onl
The failure to conduct a Test Identification Parade and prove ownership of recovered property resulted in insufficient evidence for conviction, emphasizing the prosecution's burden to establish guilt....
The central legal point established in the judgment is the requirement for reliable eyewitness testimony and proper identification procedures to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Eyewitness testimony, even from an interested witness, can sustain a conviction if corroborated by credible evidence and circumstances.
Identification in court serves as primary evidence, with errors in pre-trial identifications not automatically rendering testimonies invalid if verifiable by corroborating evidence.
The prosecution's case can be established through circumstantial evidence and witness demeanor despite inconsistencies in testimonies regarding identification, affirming the conviction under relevant....
Point of Law : Prosecution has failed to establish the guilt of the accused persons by facilitating worthwhile evidence. [Para 236]
Proper identification of an accused requires reliable procedures, and cases with significant inconsistencies in evidence should raise reasonable doubts regarding conviction.
The court emphasized the necessity of reliable identification and evidentiary support to uphold a conviction under IPC Section 395, finding significant procedural failures in the prosecution's case.
Prosecution must adhere to proper identification procedures; failure to conduct Test Identification Parades and reliance on inadequate evidence can lead to acquittal.
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