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IN THE HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR
SANJAY K.AGRAWAL, SANJAY KUMAR JAISWAL
Monika Bareth, W/o Mukesh Bareth – Appellant
Versus
State of Chhattisgarh – Respondent
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. court's jurisdiction and appeal consolidation. (Para 1 , 2) |
| 2. summary of the prosecution's case. (Para 3 , 4) |
| 3. conviction details from lower court. (Para 5 , 6) |
| 4. arguments of both parties on appeal. (Para 7 , 8) |
| 5. finding of homicidal death. (Para 10 , 11) |
| 6. assessment of child witness testimony. (Para 12 , 13) |
| 7. principles for evaluating child witness evidence. (Para 14 , 19) |
| 8. circumstances of the child witness's testimony. (Para 15 , 18) |
| 9. inadmissibility of certain evidence and lack of corroboration. (Para 20 , 21) |
| 10. standard of proof and acquittal due to benefit of doubt. (Para 22) |
| 11. (Para 23 , 24) |
JUDGMENT :
Sanjay Kumar Jaiswal, J
(1) Regard being had to the similitude of the question of facts and law involved and being arising out of a common impugned judgment dt. 21.10.2014, on the joint request of learned counsel for the parties, both these criminal appeals are clubbed together, heard together and being disposed of by this common judgment.
(2) Invoking criminal appellate jurisdiction of this Court, two accused/appellants herein, namely, Virup Pal @ Veeru (A-1) and Smt. Monika Bareth (A-3) have preferred CRA-1324-2014 & CRA- 90-2015 under Section 374(2)
The conviction was overturned due to the prosecution's failure to prove the guilt of the appellants beyond reasonable doubt, particularly highlighting the unreliable testimony of the child witness.
Circumstantial evidence, including the last-seen principle and failure to explain circumstances of a child's death, uphold conviction under sections 302, 201 of the IPC.
The conviction based solely on a child's testimony is insufficient if discrepancies undermine its reliability, necessitating corroborative evidence.
The court confirmed that related eyewitnesses can provide reliable testimony in murder cases when corroborated by medical evidence, emphasizing that evidence must be assessed for credibility rather t....
The presumption of innocence remains until proven guilty, and an acquittal should not be disturbed without compelling reasons.
The conviction under Section 307 IPC was overturned due to unreliable child witness testimonies and the failure of the prosecution to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt.
(1) Section 34 IPC and 115 IPC would not go hand in hand.(2) Evidence is raw material which Judge or Adjudicator uses to reach a finding of fact – Courts can record order of conviction even in a case....
The testimony of related witnesses is admissible and credible if substantiated by corroborating evidence; the mere relationship does not diminish its evidentiary value.
The judgment establishes that minor discrepancies in witness testimonies, which do not materially affect the case, cannot be the basis for doubting the prosecution's case.
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