The prosecution must establish the guilt of the accused beyond a reasonable doubt, and in cases based on circumstantial evidence, the circumstances must be fully established and consistent only with the hypothesis of the guilt of the accused.

JUDGMENT :

Subhash Vidyarthi, J.

(Order on application for leave to appeal)

1. Heard Shri Ratan Singh, learned Additional Government Advocate for the Appellant - State of U.P., on the application under Section 378 (3) of the Criminal Procedure Code (herein after referred to as "Cr.P.C.") seeking leave to file appeal against the judgment and order dated 18.03.2021 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Court No. 8, Bulandshahar in Sessions Trial No. 352 of 2016, acquitting the accused-respondents of the charges of committing offences punishable under Sections 302/34, 328/34 of the Indian Penal Code (hereinafter referred to as "IPC") in Case Crime No. 265 of 2014, Police Station Chhataari, District Bulandshahr.

2. Briefly stated, the prosecution case is that on 16.08.2014 Ashok Kumar gave information (Exhibit A-1) to the police that his son (Sanna) had committed suicide at his home on the same day. No one is guilty for it, yet to ascertain the cause of his death, a post-mortem examination be conducted. On 25.08.2014, the informant filed an application under Section 156 (3) Cr.P.C. (Exhibit A-2) stating that his son Sanna used to work in Gujarat alongwith Brijesh (the respondent no. 1) of the same village and they used to do painting jobs in factories. About one month prior to the date of the incident i.e. 16.08.2014, Sanna had told the informant on phone that Brijesh has made illicit relations with a girl at Surat and upon being forbidden, Brijesh threatened him of dire consequences. The informant had told him that he will talk to Brijesh when he would come to the village.

3. The informant's son Sanna and Brijesh were visiting the village on the occasion of 'Rakshabandhan'. On 16.08.2014 at 10:00 a.m. Brijesh and his relative Praveen had come to the informant's home. At that time the informant, his wife and other son Tota Ram were present there. In their presence, Brijesh called and took away the informant's son Sanna saying that they will go to the market to eat and drink something. Although, the informant objected to it, Brijesh and Praveen took away his son Sanna on a motorcycle to the tube-well of Praveen's uncle Laloo near the cremation ground in the village. They put some poisonous substance in liquor and made Sanna drink it and they took away Rs.6,000/- and a mobile from Sanna's pocket. At that very time, the informant's other son Tota Ram reached there to call his brother Sanna and he saw that Brijesh and Praveen were offering liquor to Sanna, but Brijesh and Praveen did not send him and asked Tota Ram to leave else they would kill him also. After killing Sanna by making him consume some poisonous substance in liquor and after causing injuries to his legs, they dropped him home on their motorcycle at about 4:00 p.m. Tota Ram sent an information of the incident to the police on 'Dial 100', upon which a constable visited his home and took Tota Ram to the police station for lodging an FIR. At a short distance from Pandawal Chowki, the said motorcycle met with an accident with another motorcycle, due to which Tota Ram and the constable suffered injuries and the report could not be lodged in Police Station Chhataari. Afterwards, police came to the informant's house and prepared an inquest report of the dead body of the deceased Sanna and got a post mortem examination done. Thus, the accused-respondent committed murder of the informant's son Sanna.

4. On the aforesaid application, on 16.09.2014, an FIR (Ex.K-4) was registered as Case Crime No. 265 of 2014 under Sections 302, 328 IPC in the concerned Police Station against the accused-respondents.

5. The cause of death of the deceased could not be ascertained by the post mortem examination and his viscera was preserved and sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory. As per the Laboratory's report, Aluminium Phosphide, which is commonly known as Salphas, was found in the parts of viscera.

6. After examining the evidence on record and taking into consideration the rival contention