2026:CGHC:12920-DB Digitally signed by AKHILESH NAFR AKHILESH BEOHAR BEOHAR Date:

2026.03.20

15:38:24 HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR +0530 ACQA No. 639 of 2019 • The State of Chhattisgarh, Through District Magistrate, District Janjgir–Champa, C.G.

...Appellant versus • Jai Narayan @ Tikla Diwakar, S/o Laxman Diwakar, aged about 25 years, R/o Sendari, Police Station Baradwar, District Janjgir -Champa Chhattisgarh.

... Respondent For Appellant : Mr. Rishiraj Pithwa, Deputy Government Advocate For Respondent : Mr. Vimlesh Bajpai, Advocate.

Hon'ble Smt. Justice Rajani Dubey and Hon'ble Shri Justice Radhakishan Agrawal Judgment on Board

18.03.2026 Per Radhakishan Agrawa l , J .

1. This acquittal appeal filed by the Appellant/State arises out of the judgment dated 25.01.2018 passed by the learned Third Additional Sessions Judge, Janjgir (C.G.) in Sessions Case No. 29/2017, whereby the learned trial Court acquitted the accused/respondent of the charges under Sections 364/34, 302/34, 201, 120-B and 404 of the Indian Penal Code (for short, ‘IPC’) by extending the benefit of doubt.

2. Case of the prosecution, in brief, is that father of the deceased- Raju Kumar Sahu, namely Chhattulal Sahu (PW-11), lodged a missing report (Ex.P-22C) at Police Station Janjgir on 02.07.2016 stating that his son/deceased, who was working as a driver of a Scorpio vehicle bearing registration No.CG/11/F/9577 owned by Isdor Minj (PW-13), had gone on 25.06.2016 in the morning after taking the vehicle to the taxi stand near Kachahari Chowk, Janjgir, and did not return thereafter. It was further stated that between 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. on the same day, four persons came to the taxi stand, hired the said vehicle, and the deceased left with them towards BTI Chowk, after which, his whereabouts became unknown. During inquiry, it was found that the mobile phone of the deceased was last located in the Baloda area on 25.06.2016, and no further location could be traced. Subsequently, on 10.07.2016, the said Scorpio vehicle was found abandoned in suspicious circumstances in village Judga under the jurisdiction of Police Station Sakti. During further investigation, the present respondent was implicated on the allegation that he was one of the persons who had taken the deceased in the said vehicle and thereafter caused his death and disposed of the body by burning it.

Accordingly, FIR (Ex.P-30) was registered against the respondent.

3. During investigation, one Micromax mobile phone vide Ex.P-7 and the Scorpio vehicle along with its documents were seized vide Exs.P-8 & P-14. The burnt jeans cloth and slippers recovered by the Burla Police were also taken into possession vide Ex.P-13. A test identification parade of the respondent was conducted vide Exs.2, 5 & 6 and the wife of the deceased identified the burnt jeans cloth vide Ex.P-15. Upon completion of the investigation, a charge-sheet was filed. The accused/respondent denied the charges and claimed to be tried.

4. The trial Court, after hearing counsel for the parties and appreciating the evidence on record, by the impugned judgment acquitted the accused/respondent of said charges leveled against him.

5. Learned counsel for the appellant/State submits that the impugned judgment of acquittal passed by the learned trial Court is illegal, erroneous and contrary to the evidence available on record. It is further submitted that although there is no direct eye-witness to the incident, but the prosecution has successfully established a complete chain of circumstantial evidence linking the respondent with the offence in question. It is contended that the witnesses present at the taxi stand identified the respondent as one of the persons who hired the vehicle; that the deceased was last seen in his company; and that the burnt jeans cloth recovered from the dead body was identified by the wife of the deceased, which clearly points towards the guilt of the respondent. It is, therefore, argued that the impugned judgment suffers from p