Back
SIDDHARTH, RAM MANOHAR NARAYAN MISHRA
Devendra – Appellant
Versus
State of U. P. – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
RAM MANOHAR NARAYAN MISHRA, J.
1. Heard Sri Amit Kumar Srivastava, learned amicus curiae for the appellant and learned AGA for the State and perused the material placed on record.
2. By means of instant criminal appeal, the convict-appellant has assailed the correctness of the judgment and order dated 19.12.1991, passed by learned IV Additional Sessions Judge, Bulandshahar, in S.T. No. 121 of 1990, arising out of Case Crime No. 122 of 1989, Police Station Khurja Dehat, District Bulandshahar, whereby, the appellant has been convicted for charges under Sections 364, 302 IPC and sentenced to undergo ten years rigorous imprisonment for offence under Section 364 IPC and imprisonment for life for offence under Section 302 IPC.
3. The prosecution case in brief is that on 24.10.1989, at about 6:00 P.M. accused Devendra carried away Rajkumar, son of Budhha, who was nephew of the informant, Pooran Singh (PW-1), on pretext of making him watch Ramleela, from home of the victim, in presence of Devi Singh and Satyaveer Singh. After two hours, at about 8:00 P.M. Chandrapal and Prakash, the co-villagers of the informant told him that they had seen Rajkumar going towards Village Jhumka, in c
In criminal cases based on circumstantial evidence, all circumstances must be proven beyond reasonable doubt to establish guilt, and inconsistencies in witness testimonies can lead to acquittal.
It is a settled legal proposition that conviction of a person accused of committing an offence, is generally based solely on evidence that is either oral or documentary, but in exceptional circumstan....
(1) Murder and disappearance of evidence – Application of theory of ‘last seen’ in absence of any other positive evidence to conclude that accused and deceased were last seen together would be hazard....
In murder cases based on circumstantial evidence, each link must be established beyond reasonable doubt, with all evidence consistently pointing to the guilt of the accused.
In criminal cases based on circumstantial evidence, the prosecution must establish a complete and unbroken chain of evidence to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
The court ruled that both the 'last seen together' theory and extra-judicial confessions require corroboration and cannot independently sustain a conviction.
Point of Law : Contradictory statements regarding extra judicial confession made by the accused/appellant, we are of the view that such type of extra judicial confession has no such value in the eye ....
Circumstantial evidence requires complete unbroken chain conclusively proving guilt and excluding innocence hypothesis; failure of key links like last seen, extra-judicial confession, motive, recover....
An indispensable Tool for Legal Professionals, Endorsed by Various High Court and Judicial Officers
Please visit our Training & Support
Center or Contact Us for assistance
Scan Me!
India’s Legal research and Law Firm App, Download now!
For Daily Legal Updates, Join us on :
Back to top
