The duty of the Investigating Officer to collect evidence, the plea of alibi, and the burden of proof on the accused were central legal principles established in the judgment.

JUDGMENT :

1. Heard the learned senior counsel Mr. Sapkal for the Applicant and the learned APP along with Mr. Kulkarni assisting the learned APP for the respondent-State at length.

2. The Applicant is an Advocate is arraigned as an accused in Crime No.28 of 2022 for the offences punishable under Sections 302, 143, 147, 148 and 149 of the I.P.C. It has been alleged that on 15.01.2022, at about 9.00 p.m., the deceased left home to attend the birthday ceremony of his friend on a bullet. His phone was replying as switched off. Therefore, the first informant went to search for him. He found him in front of a pan shop smoking cigarettes. At that time, all accused rushed to the deceased. One co-accused Taleb Sultan Chaus stabbed the deceased with a knife, and the other co-accused have also stabbed him and beat him with kicks and blows. The applicant was one of the accused amongst them. He was seen on the scene of the occurrence and stabbed the deceased. The deceased succumbed to the injuries caused to him by the accused.

3. The learned senior counsel would submit that one Shaikh Yunus Shaikh Sikandar Patel and his brother Shaikh Zakir assaulted the accused with the intent to kill him. In the said attack, the applicant suffered serious injuries. He lodged a report, and F.I.R. bearing No.273 of 2020 was registered against them on 01.08.2020 for the offences punishable under Sections 307, 120-B, 427, 323, 504, 143, 147, 148 and 149 of the I.P.C. The accused in the said crime were released on bail by the Sessions Court. The applicant has moved an application for cancellation of bail before the High Court. However, those accused had threatened the wife of the applicant and tried to pressure him to withdraw the application for cancellation of bail. They had also threatened the applicant that if he would not take the cancellation of his bail application back, then they have the next plan of acid attack. A report of that incident was also lodged. On the said report, N.C. was registered against them. He also argued that said person, namely Shaikh Younus, with some anti-social elements, had assaulted the applicant and tried to take his life thrice. Therefore, an offence under Section 307 of the I.P.C. was registered against them. On 30.11.2021, the applicant gave one representation to the Commissioner of Police, stating that the said persons were pressurizing him to withdraw the application for cancellation of bail.

4. Learned senior counsel Mr. Sapkal would further argue that the applicant has been falsely implicated in the crime. At the time of the alleged incident, he was in his home along with his family members. He sent various messages through Whatsapp to the Commissioner of Police expressing apprehension of implicating him in a false crime, as threats were given to him. His father made an application on 20.01.2022 addressed to the Commissioner of Police to collect the data from the C.C.T.V. camera at the time of the alleged murder. But neither the Commissioner of Police nor the Investigation Officer took care and collected the evidence showing that he was not present on the spot of the incident and has been falsely implicated in the crime. The President of the District Bar Association and other advocates also requested the Commissioner of Police to conduct the proper inquiry. The Commissioner of Police was informed that the applicant was falsely implicated. The Commissioner of Police assured them that he would personally look into the matter and see that innocents may not be arrested.

5. In a nutshell, the arguments of the learned senior counsel for the applicant the Commissioner of Police and Investigation Officer did not pay hid to the request of the applicant to collect the data from the C.C.T.V. camera from the house of the applicant, showing that he was in his house at the alleged time of the incident. The copies from the said C.C.T.V. camera were also placed before the learned Sessions Judge. The learned Sessions Judge has watched th