Summary
The mother of a man who died a day after an attack in Karnal in December 2009 appealed against the acquittal of five accused of murder and allied offences; the trial court had found no eyewitness supporting the prosecution, her account differing from another witness, her presence unproved and interested, and the forensic report linking no weapon to the deceased, and the Punjab and Haryana High Court had dismissed her appeal. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal: an acquittal fortifies the presumption of innocence and under Allarakha K. Mansuri, Suman Chandra and Mrinal Das may be reversed only where the trial court's view is perverse and unreasonable or there are compelling and substantial reasons; the trial court had carefully analysed the evidence and no perversity was shown.
Issues
- Whether the concurrent acquittal of the accused by the trial court and the High Court, founded on the absence of reliable eyewitness testimony and the failure of forensic evidence to connect the recovered weapons to the deceased, warranted reversal in appeal.
Provisions considered
- Sections 148, 149, 302, 307, 323, 324 and 506, Indian Penal Code, 1860The charges arose from an attack on 22.12.2009 followed by the victim's death the next day; the trial court found the prosecution case doubtful on the evidence and acquitted all accused, a finding the appellate courts declined to disturb. (¶¶ 2, 3, 4, 6)
Held
- Where reversal of an acquittal is sought, the presumption of innocence, having survived a full trial, stands fortified and the prosecution bears a more onerous responsibility; following Allarakha K. Mansuri, if two views are possible the one favouring the accused is adopted, following Suman Chandra reversal requires the trial court's view to be not only erroneous but perverse and unreasonable, and following Mrinal Das interference needs compelling and substantial reasons such as ignored or misread material evidence. (¶¶ 7, 8, 9, 10)
- The trial court perused all the evidence and carried out a detailed analysis before concluding that none of the eyewitnesses supported the prosecution, that the mother's narration diverged from PW1's and her presence was unproved, and that the forensic report found no blood on the weapons save unlinked traces on one lathi; no perversity was committed and the High Court rightly affirmed the acquittal. (¶¶ 6, 11, 12)
Result
Criminal Appeal No. 1904 of 2014 dismissed; judgment of the Punjab and Haryana High Court dated 24.01.2013 in Criminal Appeal No. 43-MA of 2012 affirming the trial court's acquittal of respondent Nos. 2 to 6 dated 18.10.2011 upheld.