IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD

R/CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 312 of 2004

FOR APPROVAL AND SIGNATURE:

HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ILESH J. VORA

and

HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE R. T. VACHHANI

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Approved for Reporting Yes No

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STATE OF GUJARAT

Versus

YAKUB SIKANDER SHEIKH

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Appearance:

MR JK SHAH, APP for the Appellant(s) No. 1

NOTICE SERVED for the Opponent(s)/Respondent(s) No. 1

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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ILESH J. VORA

and

HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE R. T. VACHHANI

Date : 28/11/2025

ORAL JUDGMENT

(PER : HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE R. T. VACHHANI)

1. Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the judgment and order of acquittal dated 15.07.2002 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Panchmahals at Godhra in Sessions Case No.118 of 2002, whereby the respondent-accused came to be acquitted for the offences punishable under Sections 302 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 135 of the Bombay Police Act, the appellant – State has preferred the present appeal with leave under Section 378(1)(3) of the

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

2. The brief facts leading to the filing of the present appeal are as

under:

2.1. On 28.02.2002, at about 16:30 hours, near the bus stand at Pandarwada village, Taluka Khanpur, District Panchmahals, during the bandh called on account of certain incidents in the State, the complainant along with his relatives and villagers was ensuring closure of shops. At that time, the deceased Shambhubhai, brother of the complainant, was at his shop. The respondent-accused along with two absconding accused persons, namely Mehmoodmiya and Firozbhai Bhikhubhai, came there armed with deadly weapons including a sword. They dragged the deceased out of the shop and inflicted multiple injuries with sharp cutting weapons. The deceased succumbed to the injuries on the spot. He was taken to the hospital where he was declared brought dead. The complaint was lodged the same day at Khanpur Police Station, which came to be registered as FIR bearing C.R. No.I-9/2002 for the aforesaid offences.

2.2. During investigation, inquest panchnama and scene of offence panchnama were drawn, postmortem was conducted, statements of witnesses were recorded and after completion of investigation, charge sheet was filed against the present respondent-accused (other two accused remained absconding).

2.3. The case being exclusively triable by the Court of Sessions, it was committed to the Sessions Court, Panchmahals at Godhra and was registered as Sessions Case No.118 of 2002. Charge was framed at Exh.2. The respondent-accused pleaded not guilty and claimed to be tried. At the conclusion of the trial, after recording the statement of the accused under Section 313 of the Code and hearing the parties, the learned trial court acquitted the respondent-accused of all the charges by the impugned judgment and order dated 15.07.2002.

3. Learned APP submitted that the impugned judgment is contrary to the evidence on record and deserves to be set aside. It was contended that the prosecution had examined seven eye-witnesses who had fully supported the case in their police statements, but all of them turned hostile in the court. It was submitted that merely because near relatives of the deceased have not supported the prosecution, the case cannot be thrown overboard when the medical evidence fully corroborates the ocular version recorded during investigation. It was urged that the trial court has failed to appreciate the evidence in its proper perspective and the acquittal may be converted into conviction.

4. We have heard learned APP for the appellant-State and perused the record and proceedings including the oral and documentary evidence adduced before the trial court. We find that the view taken by the learned trial court is the only possible and corre