The court emphasized that DNA evidence must be corroborated by substantive evidence and procedural integrity is essential for its admissibility in criminal cases.

JUDGMENT :

Sanjay K. Agrawal, J.

1. Invoking criminal appellate jurisdiction of this Court, the present Criminal Appeal under Section 374(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (in short, 'CrPC') has been preferred by the appellants herein against the Judgment & Order dated 17.11.2016 passed by Additional Sessions Judge, Sarangarh, District Raigarh in Sessions Case No.29/2015 whereby each of the appellants has been convicted for the offences punishable under Sections 302 /149, 201/149 & 120B of the INDIAN PENAL CODE , 1860 (in short, ‘IPC’) and sentenced in the following manner:-

Facts of the case, in brief:

2. All the appellants herein faced criminal trial before the Additional Sessions Judge, Sarangarh, District Raigarh (in short, ‘Trial Court’) for the charges under Sections 302 /149, 201/149 & 120B of IPC on the allegation, as per the prosecution, that on 16.7.2015 at about 10:30 p.m., at Village Bar under Police Station Sariya, District Raigarh, the appellants together, in furtherance of their common object, caused death of Sukhsagar Nayak assaulting him by hammer and also by strangulating him and further with an intention to conceal the evidence, they wrapped the dead-body of Sukhsagar Nayak in a plastic bag and threw it in Mahanadi river in order to screen themselves from legal punishment, thereby they all remained involved in the said criminal conspiracy. A-3 Chandrahas Sidar also was charged for the offence punishable under Section 25 of the Indian ARMS ACT , 1959 (in short, ‘ ARMS ACT ’) on the allegation of his unlawfully possessing a country made pistol without a valid licence from the competent authority.

3. The substantial admitted facts in the case which are not in dispute are that the appellants and deceased Sukhsagar all were residents of Village-Bar. A-1 Hetram Nayak and A-2 Janki Nayak are husband and wife. The deceased Sukhsagar Nayak was the elder brother of Premsagar Nayak (PW-5) and father of Harish Nayak (PW-10). Rest of the facts are disputed being not admitted.

4. Case of the prosecution, in a nutshell, is that on 17.7.2015, the complainant, Premsagar Nayak (PW-5), informed the Police Station Sariya that on 16.7.2015, in the night, his elder brother, Sukhsagar Nayak, had gone to Village-Bar to attend a meeting in respect of consecration ceremony in a temple and he remained present in the said meeting. At about 9:30 p.m., he had a conversation with someone on his phone and then he left out the meeting without informing to anyone and could not be traced out thereafter.

5. On the aforesaid report of Premsagar Nayak (PW-5), a missing person report was registered in the General Diary (Rojnamcha Sanha) of Police Station Sariya as No.10/2015. Subsequently, during the course of investigation, on 19.7.2016, dead-body of Sukhsagar Nayak was found wrapped in a plastic bag at Mohdi Boat-Stand of Mahanadi river in Village Sankra, which was identified by Premsagar Nayak (PW-5) to that