"Faulty Investigation Is Not A Ground To Acquit Accused": Telangana HC Overturns Acquittal In Family Murder Case

The Telangana High Court overturned the acquittal and sentenced 9 murder accused to life imprisonment in a family murder case.

The Court observed that aulty/defect investigation is not a ground to acquit the accused.

The Bench of Justice K Lakshman and Justice Juvvadi Sridevi observed that "faulty/defect investigation is not a ground to acquit the accused, more particularly, in a matter like this, where entire family of five members were murdered. This Court has to consider the entire evidence and analyze the same. In such event, minor omissions or contradictions can be ignored."

In this case, nine accused were acquitted of allegedly planning and executing the murder of a family of five. The trial court noted that among the six alleged eyewitnesses, all but one turned hostile. The sole non-hostile witness was the de-facto complainant, a pardanashin woman and the wife of one of the deceased.

The complainant had named only two of the nine accused in the FIR and identified four during the trial. Additionally, no test identification parade was conducted. The complainant claimed she survived because her husband hid her behind a grill gate, which was not found in the crime scene sketch by the Investigating Officer. The trial court thus deemed her testimony unreliable, as she appeared to be an interested witness who altered her story.

In 2008, the daughter of the victim family married into the accused's family. Disputes arose soon after, leading to a maintenance suit. An accident occurred while the accused's family was attending court proceedings, resulting in the death of the accused's mother. The father went into depression, and the victim family did not attend the funeral, further straining relations.

The accused family, already financially burdened by the maintenance case and frustrated by the death, allegedly plotted the murders. The sole survivor, the wife of the girl’s brother, called her father and sister-in-law after the accused left. Her sister-in-law’s husband arrived at the crime scene within minutes and called for an ambulance and the police. The FIR was registered at around 10:00 am, naming only two accused.

During cross-examination, the complainant admitted she never interacted with strangers, including the accused, due to being a pardanashin woman. She claimed she recognized the accused despite this. The accused argued that the complainant's inconsistent identification of the accused and her status as a pardanashin woman undermined her credibility, suggesting she was a planted witness.

The High Court observed that, "in criminal justice system, accused is presumed to be an innocent unless and until guilt is proved beyond reasonable doubt. The prosecution has to prove the guilt of accused Nos.1 to 4 by producing legally acceptable evidence. Burden lies on the prosecution. In the present case, it is a family murder case. Five members of one family were murdered. PW.1 is the eye-witness. Depositions of PWs.3 and 4, neighbours, can be believed to the extent which is useful to the prosecution as held by the Apex Court in the aforesaid decisions. The said evidence is supported by medical evidence, but the trial Court failed to consider all the said aspects in the impugned judgment and erroneously acquitted the accused."

Case No.: Crl.A. No. 57 of 2014

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