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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
REVATI MOHITE DERE, DR. NEELA GOKHALE, JJ
Saiyyad Musaddik Vahiduddin Kadri @ Imran Mansuri Hasani – Appellant
Versus
State of Maharashtra – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
Revati Mohite Dere, J.
1 By this appeal, the appellant has assailed the judgment and order dated 28th March 2019, passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Thane, in Sessions Case No.29/2013, convicting him for the offence punishable under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (‘IPC’) and sentencing him to suffer imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs.5,000/- in default, to suffer rigorous imprisonment for one month.
2 The facts as are necessary to deal with the case are:
It is the prosecution case that between 8:00 p.m on 14th August 2003 and 7:35 a.m on 15th August 2003, the appellant committed the murder of one scrap vendor-Julfikar Umarkhan with a weapon or sharp edged knife and be-headed the said person and set him ablaze by pouring kerosene or a like substance. The body of the person was found in a bathroom in a flat, being Flat No. 302 of Sai Aashiyana Co-op. Society, A-Wing, Mira Road, Thane. It is further the prosecution case that the said act was done by the appellant to conceal his identity, by showing that he was murdered. The object/motive was to avoid court proceedings and cases which the appellant was facing.
The act came to light, when the neighbo
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 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.
(1) Murder – Proof of motive is not sine qua non in a case of murder – However, in a case based purely on circumstantial evidence, motive if properly established, assumes great significance and would....
The prosecution must establish a complete chain of evidence, including motive, in cases based on circumstantial evidence, and the evidence must be cogent, trustworthy, and exclude every possible hypo....
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 principle that the burden of proving guilt beyond reasonable doubt lies with the prosecution, and the use of circumstantial evidence must be complete and incapable of exp....
(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....
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 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.
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