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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
Manish Pitale, Shreeram V. Shirsat, JJ.
Mukesh Mahadev Musahar - Appellant
Versus
The State Of Maharashtra (Through MRA Marg Police Station) - Respondent
Criminal Appeal No. 629 Of 2021, Criminal Appeal No. 752 Of 2022
Decided On : 25-02-2026
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. appeals against circumstantial murder conviction. (Para 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8) |
| 2. contention on last seen and recovery reliability. (Para 9 , 10) |
| 3. complete chain needed for circumstantial guilt. (Para 11 , 12 , 13) |
| 4. witness evidence on discovery, last seen, recoveries. (Para 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23) |
| 5. long gap weakens last seen theory. (Para 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28) |
| 6. handcuffed recoveries from public areas unreliable. (Para 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33) |
| 7. no spot sealing taints recovery evidence. (Para 34 , 35 , 36 , 37) |
| 8. no motive, incomplete chain warrants acquittal. (Para 38 , 39 , 40) |
| 9. conviction quashed; appellants acquitted. (Para 41 , 42) |
JUDGMENT :
SHREERAM V. SHIRSAT, J.
1. These are two Appeals challenging the judgment and order of conviction recorded by the Learned Sessions Judge for Greater Bombay, at Bombay on 12/01/2018 in a Sessions Case No. 459 of 2016, holding the Appellants guilty under Section 235 (2) of Criminal Procedure Code for offences punishable under Sections 302, 201 r/w 34 of the Indian Penal Code and sentencing them to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay fine of Rs. 2,000/- each, in default to suffer rigorous imprisonment for one month.
2. Although the Appellants have preferred two separate appeals, both the Appeals are being disposed of by a common order since the Appellants are convicted vide common judgment and order dated 12/01/2018. For the sake of brevity and contextual convenience, the Appellants are referred herein as to Appellant No 1 who is Accused No 1-Avinash Bhushan Pimpalkar @ Raju and Appellant No 2 who is Accused No 2-Mukesh Mahadev Musahar.
3. The Case of the prosecution is encapsulated as under :
a. It is the case of the complainant, that on 25/03/2016, he received a message from police control room at about 09.00 a.m. that a dead body was lying near the compound of Railway Claims Tribunal at P. D’Mello road. It is further the case that they reached the spot at around 09.10 a.m. and one lady by name Rajeshree Sharma was present outside the compound. It is the case that thereafter the police were taken to the spot and shown the dead body. It is further the case that the dead body was lying inside the compound and that they entered inside the compound from the eastern main gate and saw that the dead body was of a lady about 55 to 60 years old and it was lying near the compound in a ditch. It is further the case that body was half naked and there were injuries on her face and that the face was not identifiable due to injuries. It is further the case that FIR came to be lodged against unknown person vide C.R. No 74/2016 on 25/03/2016 for the offences under Sections 302, 201 r/w 34 of IPC.
b. Thereafter investigation commenced and the Appellants came to be arrested on 27/03/2016. After completion of the investigation, the Charge-Sheet was filed.
4. The Sessions Court for Greater Bombay framed charges against the Appellants for the commission of offences punishable under Sections 302, 201 r/w 34 of the Indian Penal Code. Both the Accused pleaded not guilty for the charges and claimed to be tried. The defence of the Appellants is of total denial and of having been falsely implicated in this case.
5. The prosecution examined 10 witnesses in support of its case:
| P.W.NO. | NAME OF THE WITNESS |
| 1 | ASI Pandharinath Vithal Darade (Informant). |
| 2 | Rajshree Jagdish Sharma (Lady who reported the information to the Police). |
| 3 | Adesh Uttarmrao Shejav (who last saw both the Appellants with the deceased). |
| 4 | Mr. Samshunddin Hussain Mansoori (panch witness for recovery of brick at the instance of the appellant-accused Avinash). |
| 5 | Mr. Girish Govind Zavere (panch witness for recovery of clothes at the instance of the appellant-accused Avinash). |
| 6 | Mr. Anup Ramkishor Pandey (panch for recovery of clothes and stone at the instance of appellant-accused Mukesh). |
| 7 | Mr. Nagesh Shanakar Nasari (panch witness for recovery of clothes at the instance of appellant-accused Avinash). |
| 8 | Dr. Hemal Ja |
Circumstantial evidence conviction requires complete chain excluding innocence; unreliable last seen due to time gap, tainted recoveries from duress/public access justify acquittal.
Circumstantial evidence requires complete chain excluding innocence; long time gap invalidates last seen theory without ruling out third-party intervention; open-place recoveries lack credibility; un....
Circumstantial evidence can establish guilt if it forms a complete chain pointing to the accused, even without direct evidence.
In criminal cases relying on circumstantial evidence, the prosecution must establish a complete chain of circumstances beyond reasonable doubt, leaving no room for alternative hypotheses of innocence....
In circumstantial murder cases, last seen theory alone cannot sustain conviction without complete evidentiary chain excluding innocence, especially with wide time gap allowing third-party interventio....
Murder Charge - When a murder charge is to be proved solely on circumstantial evidence, as in this case, presumption of innocence of the accused must have a dominant role.
For a conviction based on circumstantial evidence, each link in the chain must be established beyond reasonable doubt; failure to do so warrants acquittal.
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....
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