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IN THE HIGH COURT OF ALLAHABAD, LUCKNOW BENCH
RAJNISH KUMAR, ZAFEER AHMAD
Shankar – Appellant
Versus
State of U.P. – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
Rajnish Kumar, J.
(1) Heard Shri Adarsh Mehrotra, learned Amicus Curiae for the appellants in Criminal Appeal No. 255 of 2005, Shri Amar Nath Dubey, learned Amicus Curiae for the appellant in Criminal Appeal No. 254 of 2005, Shri Shreesh Kumar Mishra Atal, learned Amicus Curiae for the appellants in Criminal Appeal No. 43 of 2005, Shri Chandra Shekhar Pandey, learned Amicus Curiae for the appellant in Criminal Appeal No. 231 of 2005 and Shri Pawan Kumar Misra, learned A.G.A. for the State.
(2) All the aforesaid criminal appeals under Section 374 (2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (here-in-after referred to as “Cr.P.C.”) emanate from common judgment and order dated 18.12.2004 passed by learned Additional Sessions Judge/Special Judge (Essential Commodities Act), Unnao, in Sessions Trial No. 228 of 2001; State Versus Rampal and 14 others, arising out of Case Crime No.41 of 2001, under Sections 148, 404, 452, 307/149 and 302/149 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (here-in-after referred to as “I.P.C.”), Police Station Makhi, District Unnao.
(3) Since the above-captioned criminal appeals emanate from a common factual matrix/incident, F.I.R. and impugned judgment and order 18
Conviction for mass murder under 302/149 IPC set aside due to unreliable, contradictory ocular evidence from related witnesses; doubtful night identification, improbable presence/story; benefit of do....
Reliable eye-witness testimony of natural witnesses, consistent with medical evidence and prompt FIR, sustains murder conviction under 302/34 IPC despite alleged enmity.
Point of law: Every person who witnesses a murder reacts in his own way. Some are stunned, become speechless and stand rooted to the spot. Some become hysteric and start wailing. Some start shouting ....
The court reiterated the importance of scrutinizing testimony from interested witnesses, considering the relevance of motive in establishing guilt, and disregarding minor discrepancies in witness tes....
Point of law: In the absence of such finding as also any overt act on the part of the accused persons, mere fact that they were armed would not be sufficient to prove common object.
Eyewitness testimony, even from related witnesses, can sustain a conviction if corroborated by cohesive evidence; procedural lapses in FIR handling do not necessarily vitiate a trial.
(1) Appreciation of evidence – Testimonies of prosecution witnesses, before their acceptance must be tested on established parameters of appreciation of evidence.(2) Appreciation of evidence – Positi....
The court upheld the conviction of the surviving appellants based on reliable ocular evidence from injured witnesses, emphasizing the special status of such testimony in criminal cases.
Conviction for murder upheld based on consistent witness testimony, and acquittal appeals require high scrutiny, with previous enmity not negating witness credibility.
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