Dock identification of unknown accused by witnesses without prior test identification parade is unreliable for conviction, especially with witness contradictions and evidentiary doubts.

JUDGMENT :

Rakesh Kainthla, J.

The present appeal is directed against the judgment of conviction dated 26.06.2024 and order of sentence dated 28.06.2024, passed by learned Additional Sessions Judge, Dehra, District Kangra (learned Trial Court) vide which the appellants (accused before learned Trial Court) were convicted of the commission of an offence punishable under Section 333 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for four years, pay a fine of Rs.5,000/- each and in default of payment of fine, to undergo further simple imprisonment for eight months each for the commission of the aforesaid offence. The appellants (accused before the learned Trial Court) were also convicted of the commission of an offence punishable under Section 353 read with of the Indian Penal Code () and were sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for two years. It was ordered that both the substantive sentences of imprisonment shall run concurrently. (Parties shall hereinafter be referred to in the same manner as they were arrayed before the learned Trial Court for convenience.)

2. Briefly stated, the facts giving rise to the present appeal are that the police presented a challan before the learned Trial Court against the accused for the commission of offences punishable under Sections 353, 332, 333, and 504 read with Section 34 of the IPC. It was asserted that informant Ajay Kumar (PW1) was posted as a Driver in HRTC, Dehra for the last eight years. He was driving the bus from Chintpurni via Kadhoa on 04.10.2019. The bus was stopped at Kadhoa Bazar at 9:15 AM to allow the passengers to board it. Two people came on a motorcycle bearing registration number HP-36C-1509 to the spot from Dhaliara and stopped the motorcycle in front of the bus. They started abusing the informant. The shopkeepers and Pradhan of Gram Panchayat Kadhoa reached the spot. The motorcyclists opened the window of the bus and dragged the informant out of the bus. They gave beatings to the informant, who sustained injuries on his face, and his tooth was broken. His uniform was also torn in the incident. The names of the motorcyclists were found to be Swaran Singh and Sohrat. The matter was reported to the police. An entry No. 10 (Ext.P1/PW11) dated 04.10.2009 was recorded. HC Surender Kumar (PW11) and Constable Pushpender went to the spot to verify the correctness of the information. HC Surender Kumar (PW11) recorded the informant’s statement (Ext.P1/PW1) and sent it to the Police Station, where FIR (Ext.P1/PW7) was registered. The informant produced a Khakhi shirt (Ext.MO-2) whose two buttons were detached in the scuffle. HC Surender Kumar (PW11) put the shirt in a cloth parcel and sealed the parcel with five impressions of seal ‘S’. He obtained the sample of seal (Ext.P3/PW1) on a separate piece of cloth and seized the parcel vide memo (Ext.P2/PW1). He also seized the bus bearing registration No. HP-36B-1406 vide memo (Ext.P4/PW1), and handed over the bus on Sapurdari to ASI Joginder Singh (PW10). He seized the motorcycle bearing registration No. HP-36C-1509 vide memo (Ext.P1/PW2). He prepared the site plan (Ext.P2/PW11). He filed an appl