The prosecution's failure to establish the fundamental elements of kidnapping and ransom resulted in the High Court overturning the convictions due to lack of evidence and procedural irregularities.

JUDGMENT :

Ramesh Sinha, CJ.

1. Heard Mr. Rajesh Jain, learned counsel for the appellant in CRA No.1656/2024, Mr. Goutam Khetrapal, learned counsel for the appellant in CRA No.1696/2024, Mr. Santosh Bharat, learned counsel for the appellant in CRA No.1954/2024 as well as Mr. Shanshank Thakur, learned Deputy Advocate General, appearing for the State/respondent.

2. Since all these criminal appeals, namely CRA No.1656/2024, CRA No.1696/2024 and CRA No.1954/2024, arise out of the same crime, they have been clubbed together, heard together, and are being decided by this common judgment.

3. These criminal appeals under Section 374(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short, ‘Cr.P.C.’) are directed against the impugned judgment of conviction and order of sentence dated 23.08.2024 passed by learned 3^rd Additional Additional Sessions Judge, Bilaspur, District – Bilaspur (C.G.) in Sessions Trial No.121/2022, whereby the learned trial Court has convicted and sentenced the appellants as under :-

4. The prosecution case, as unfolded during the investigation and trial, is that on 06.02.2022 at about 5:00 p.m., at Khudiram Bose Chowk, Deepupara Adivasi Mohalla, Tarbahar, Police Station Tarbahar, District Bilaspur (C.G.), the accused persons, in furtherance of their common intention, kidnapped one Mohammad Rehan, a minor aged about 16 years, son of the complainant, from the lawful guardianship of his parents without their consent. It was alleged that the kidnapping was committed with the object of compelling the parents of Mohammad Rehan to pay ransom, and for that purpose, the accused persons put the parents in fear of death of his son. In furtherance of their common intention and common object, the accused persons caused the death of Mohammad Rehan by assaulting him and strangulating him, thereby committing his murder, an offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life. It was further alleged that, with the knowledge that the said act was punishable with death or imprisonment for life, and with the intention of screening themselves from legal punishment, the accused persons concealed the dead body of Mohammad Rehan by placing it in a sack and hiding it under a culvert near Mananpur Highway, thereby causing disappearance of evidence of the offence.

5. Brief facts of the case, in a nutshell, are that on 06.02.2022 the complainant, Asif Mohammad (PW-1), lodged a report at Police Station Tarbahar stating that at about 5:30 p.m. on the same day, his son Mohammad Rehan had gone to purchase chips from a shop situated near Khudiram Bose Chowk, Deepupara Adivasi Mohalla, Tarbahar, and did not return home. Despite making enquiries in the neighbourhood and from his son’s friends, no information about his whereabouts could be obtained, leading to a suspicion that some unknown person had kidnapped his son by enticing him away.

6. On the basis of the said report, an FIR was registered at Police Station Tarbahar against unknown persons for the offence punishable under Section 363 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (for short, ‘IPC’). During the course of investigation, at about 11:15 p.m. on 06.02.2022, a call was received on the complainant’s mobile phone from the mobile phone of the kidnapped boy, wherein the caller stated that his son had been kidnapped and demanded a ransom of Rs.50,00,000/- for his release.

7. During investigation, on the basis of the mobile phone and call detail records of the abducted boy, the memorandum statement of accused Abhishek Dan was recorded, wherein he disclosed that, along with co-accused Sahil alias Shibu Khan and Ravi Khandekar, he had kidnapped Mohammad Rehan and had demanded ransom of Rs.50,00,0