IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
Revati Mohite Dere, Neela Gokhale
Dattu @ Datta Bhika Tongare – Appellant
Versus
State Of Maharashtra – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
Revati Mohite Dere, J.
1. By this appeal, the appellant has assailed the judgment and order dated 25th September 2014, passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Niphad, in Sessions Case No.47 of 2012, convicting and sentencing him, as under:-
- for the offence punishable under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (‘ IPC ’) to suffer imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs.2,000/- in default, to suffer rigorous imprisonment for one year.
2. A few facts as are necessary to decide the aforesaid appeal are set out hereinunder :-
The appellant was in a relationship with the deceased and had introduced the deceased to PW1 – Balkrushna Chaudhary, as his wife. It is the prosecution case that 15 days prior to the incident, the appellant and the deceased alongwith two kids (kids from deceased’s first marriage) had come to PW1 – Balkrushna Chaudhary’s house for a job. According to PW1 – Balkrushna, one day prior to the incident, the appellant took a sum of Rs.2,000/- from him and went to attend the market at Ozar alongwith his wife and children; that on the next day when PW1 went to his field at about 6:30 a.m. to start the pump set and went to the shed where the appellant
The prosecution must prove its case beyond reasonable doubt, and mere failure of the accused to explain circumstances does not suffice for conviction if the evidence is insufficient.
Murder and disappearance of evidence – Whenever any doubt emanates in mind of Court, benefit shall accrue to accused and not prosecution – Conviction only on the basis of last seen together cannot be....
The prosecution failed to establish the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt, relying on circumstantial evidence that did not form a complete chain of proof.
The court upheld the conviction under IPC Section 302, emphasizing that circumstantial evidence must form a complete chain, proving guilt beyond reasonable doubt without the accused providing an adeq....
The judgment establishes the principles of circumstantial evidence, the last seen theory, and the burden of proof under Section 106 of the Indian Evidence Act in establishing guilt in criminal cases.
(1) Circumstantial evidence – ‘Last seen’ theory can be invoked only when same stands proved beyond reasonable doubt.(2) When two views are possible, one favouring accused is to be leaned on.
(1) Section 106 of Evidence Act will apply to those cases where prosecution has succeeded in establishing facts from which a reasonable inference can be drawn.(2) When a case is resting on circumstan....
(1) Murder – If in a case based on circumstantial evidence, accused evades response to an incriminating question or offers a response which is not true, such a response, in itself, would become an ad....
The main legal point established in the judgment is the application of the 'last seen together theory' and the reliance on circumstantial evidence, medical evidence, and recovery evidence to establis....
Conviction for murder can be sustained based on circumstantial evidence and the last seen theory, particularly when the accused fails to explain crucial circumstances.
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