Convictions based on unreliable confessions and hostile witness testimonies fail to meet the burden of proof required for criminal liability, leading to acquittal.

JUDGMENT :

SARANG V. KOTWAL, J.

1. The Appellants have challenged the Judgment and Order dated 02/04/2013 passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Palghar, in Sessions Case No.05/2009. The Appellants were the original accused Nos.1 and 2 respectively. There were two more accused who were acquitted from all the charges.

2. By the impugned Judgment and Order, the Appellants were convicted as follows ;

(i) The Appellants were convicted for commission of offence punishable u/s 302 of the Indian Penal Code and were sentenced to suffer imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs.10,000/- and in default of payment of fine to suffer further simple imprisonment for one year.

(ii) Both of them were convicted for commission of offence punishable u/s 120-B of the Indian Penal Code and were sentenced to suffer imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs.10,000/- and in default of payment of fine to suffer further simple imprisonment for one year.

(iii) They were also convicted for commission of offence punishable u/s 201 of the Indian Penal Code and were sentenced to suffer simple imprisonment for seven years and and to pay a fine of Rs.5,000/- and in default of payment of fine to suffer further simple imprisonment six months.

(iv) All the substantive sentences were directed to run concurrently.

(v) The other accused i.e. accused No.3 Seema Dandekar and accused No.4 Sonu Kakwa were acquitted of all the charges.

3. Heard Mr. Dinesh G. Mishra, learned counsel for the Appellants and Ms. Geeta P. Mulekar, learned APP for the State.

4. The prosecution case involves murder of four persons, viz. Vanasubai, Sanjay, Sadhana and Rekha. Sanjay was nephew of Vanasubai and Sadhana was niece of Vanasubai. Sadhana was Sanjay’s sister. Rekha was engaged to Sanjay. But was residing with him. The accused No.3 Seema was daughter-in-law of Vanasubai. Accused No.1 Rakesh i.e. the present Appellant No.1 was Seema’s son and Vanasubai’s grandson. Accused No.4 Sonu was brother of accused No.3 Seema. Accused No.2 i.e. the Appellant No.2 Mahendra was Rakesh’s friend. There were other two accused Ghanshyam Harijan and Shamsunder Harijan. But they were absconding and did not face the trial.

5. Somewhere between night of 14/08/2008 and 15/08/2008, Vanasubai was murdered by throttling. Sanjay, Sadhana and Rekha were missing. The prosecution case is that because of the dispute regarding the property, Seema and Rakesh conspired with other accused to commit murder of the deceased persons. In executing their plan, they first committed murder of Vanasubai by throttling. The other three deceased were assaulted in Vanasubai’s house. Then they were taken to a Nala. They were forcibly drowned in the water. The accused tied their dead bodies and threw them in a septic tank behind a railway colony near Gholwad.

6. Vanasubai’s niece Geeta was the first informant in this case. She saw Vanasubai lying dead in her house on 15/08/2008. The police were informed. Initially the accidental death was reported and the enquiry was made. Subsequently, according to the police, it was investigated as a case of murder. The accused were arrested. It is alleged that the accused No.1 Rakesh showed willingness to point out the place where the dead bodies of Sanjay, Sadhana and Rekha were disposed of. Accordingly, the police were taken near a septic tank, from where the three highly decomposed dead bodies were taken out. According to the prosecution, the accused had tied wires around the dead bodies. Then the dead bodies were tied to heavy stones. The accused dumped those bodies in the septic tank. The accused Seema allegedly gave voluntary statem