The appellate court can reverse a trial court's acquittal if substantial evidence establishes guilt beyond reasonable doubt, affirming the principle of presumption of innocence in criminal law.

JUDGMENT :

Nutan D. Sardessai, J.

1. The State as the appellant is taking exception to the judgment passed by the Sessions Judge, South Goa, Margao pursuant to which the respondents accused were given the benefit of doubt and set at liberty in respect of the commission of the offences under Section 143 , 147, 148, 302, 307, 426 and 302 r/w. 149 I.P.C.

2. The parties would be referred to as the State and the accused for brevity’s sake hereinafter.

3. It was the case of the State that sometime on 26/08/2011 between 20.00 to 20.20 hours at Miramar, Goa, all the four accused along with the juvenile formed an unlawful assembly armed with deadly weapons such as choppers, iron pipes etc. and assaulted Manjunath Kambli, Salvador @Ghalu and Miss Arifa Khan and caused them grievous injuries. The injured Salvador had succumbed to the injuries on 03/09/2019 while undergoing treatment at the GMC Hospital, Bambolim leading to the registration of the offence also under Section 302 IPC amongst others. It was the case of the State that the injured Manjunath was sitting on a bench with Salvador @ Ghalu and Mario near the Goa Science Centre when they noticed one person walking towards them with his hand behind his back as was concealing some article in his hands. Salvador @ Ghalu had asked him as to what he was hiding and thereupon the said person had run away some distance followed by them and in the meantime the said person had removed the chopper and had loudly said “abhi mat maro abhi mat maro” and in the meantime 4 persons who were hiding nearby had jumped over the fence armed with baseball sticks and choppers.

4. It was the prosecution case further that Manjunath and Salvador had run towards the road and had entered a car which was parked by the side of the road and in the meantime one girl who was in the passenger seat had come out from the car. She was however attacked with the chopper by one of the assailants who also broke the glasses and damaged the car and assaulted them with choppers and baseball stick. On the basis of the case as carved out on behalf of the State, a chargesheet was laid against all the four accused before the J.M.F.C., Panaji and thereupon on completion of the formalities of furnishing the case papers to them under Section 207 Cr.P.C., was the case committed to the Court of Sessions, Panaji for disposal in accordance with law.

5. Heard Shri S.R. Rivankar, learned Public Prosecutor on behalf of the State who submitted at the outset that a crime was committed on the night of 26/08/2011 by the four accused alongwith the juvenile and for which offences were registered against them under Sections 143 , 147, 148, 302, 307, 326, 426 and 302 r/w. 149 IPC and that they were placed under arrest on 27/08/2011 at Amboli while trying to escape in a Maruti car. He referred to the evidence of the various witnesses including the testimony of one of the eye witnesses Mario Pw3, the star injured witness Majunath Pw30 who had set the law in motion by lodging a complaint and submitted that a murderous attack was pre planned by the four accused alongwith the juvenile on Salvador @ Ghalu, since deceased, and on Majunath and thereafter they had fled from the spot of crime. The motive for the crime was amply demonstrated from the testimony of Anthony Pw11. He adverted to the testimony of Dr. Fernandes Pw2 who had conducted the post mortem examination on the body of Salvador @ Ghalu and submitted that from his testimony it was amply demonstrated and borne out that the accused had the sole aim to kill Ghalu both in t