IMPORTANT POINT
The judgment reinforces that an acquittal can only be overturned if the appellate court finds clear evidence of error or illegality in the trial court's decision.

ORDER :

1. This criminal appeal under Section 378 (3) & (1) of the Cr.P.C. has been preferred by the appellant-State laid a challenge to the judgment of acquittal dated 16.01.1999, passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge Parbatsar in Sessions Case No.4/1998 (State of Rajasthan Vs. Sukhdevram & Ors), whereby the accused respondents were acquitted for the offence under Sections 302 & 120B of the Indian Penal Code.

2. The matter pertains to an incident which occurred in the year 1986 and the present appeal has been pending since the year 1999.

3. At the outset, Mr. G.R. Punia, learned Senior Counsel assisted by Mr. Sanjay Rewar, appearing on behalf of the accused-respondents, submits that accused-respondent no.1-Sukhdev and accused-respondent no.2-Bhanwarlal had already expired.

3.1. In this view of the matter, the instant appeal qua deceased accused-respondent No.1-Sukhdev and deceased accused-respondent No.2-Bhanwarlal stands abated. Thus, now this appeal is surviving only qua accused-respondent No.3-Bhagirath, and the same is adjudicated only to the extent of the surviving accused-respondent-Bhagirath.

4. Brief facts of the case, as placed before this Court by the learned GA-cum-AAG appearing on behalf of the appellant-State, are that the incident which is of intervening night of 23 & 24 September, 1986 at around 1:00 – 2:00 am whereby it was reported that at Bhoja Nimbari Kalan deceased Premaram was murdered in the open yard of his residence.

5. On the basis of the aforementioned information, an FIR was registered and the investigation accordingly commenced. After investigation, the police filed the charge-sheet under Sections 302 & 120-B IPC against the accused persons, and the trial commenced accordingly.

6. During the course of the trial, the evidence of sixteen prosecution witnesses were recorded and eighteen documents were exhibited on behalf of the prosecution; whereafter, the accused-respondents were examined under Section 313 Cr.P.C., in which the accused respondents pleaded innocence and their false implication in the criminal case in question.

7. Thereafter, upon hearing the contentions of both the parties as well as after considering the material and evidence placed on record, the learned trial Court, acquitted the accused-respondents, vide the impugned judgment dated 16.01.1999, against which the present appeal has been preferred on behalf of the appellant-State.

8. Learned GA-cum-AAG for the appellant-state submits that prosecution witness PW-9 Mohan has sufficiently supported the case of the prosecution as he has deposed that while sleeping in the house adjoining to the place of incident, he heard a gun shot at about 2 am, to which he got up and saw that Bhawra Ram and Khiw Singh were running away from the spot and that Bhawra Ram was carrying a gun. He also saw that Bhawra Ram and Khiw Singh thereafter went to the home of Sukhdevram (Sarpanch).

8.1. Learned GA-cum-AAG further submits that there was no eye witness of the incident except PW-9 Mohan but he fairly submits that Mohan has rendered the incidence after one month of the incidence because he claimed that he was afraid of Sukhdevram and thus, did not make timely disclosure of the incident.

8.2. Learned GA-cum-AAG also submits that PW-9 Mohan has valid reason to make a subsequent disclosure as it was only after a Panchayat meeting that he gathered strength and courage to make the statement and since the incident pertains to the accused persons running away from the place of incident after shooting, therefore, he becomes a crucial evidence sufficient to make conviction.

8.3. Learned GA-cum-AAG further submits that the incident took place at the home of the deceased and thus, since it is bereft of direct public involvement therefore, very wide expansion of evidence is not possible. He also submits the medical evidence indicates that 21 pallets out of the bullet were found on the head of the deceased which resulted in head injury causing death of deceased Prema