"Shocking State Of Affairs": Supreme Court Acquits Murder Accused After He Spends 16 Years In Jail
The Supreme Court acquitted a murder accused who has undergone incarceration for 16 years.
The Court said that the Courts had convicted the individual only on the basis of evidence of PW-1.
The Court was hearing a Criminal Appeal where the Trial Court convicted the Appellant for the offence punishable under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
The bench of Justice Abhay S. Oka and Justice Augustine George Masih observed, “We are surprised to note that the courts have convicted the appellant only based on evidence of PW1—Ram Sumer. He has already undergone incarceration for sixteen years. This is a shocking state of affairs.”
Advocate Vishal Vishwadheesh appeared for the Appellant and AOR Adarsh Upadhyay appeared for the Respondent.
Brief Facts-
The complainant, Jaggilal who is the brother of the deceased Harilal told the Court that he was talking with Mohan Lal when accused no. 1 and 2 armed with pistols, and the appellant, armed with a knife, attacked Harilal. Accused nos.1 and 2 were fired at Harilal. The three accused followed when the deceased was running away and the appellant assaulted Harilal with a knife. PW1, Ram Sumer, another brother and eyewitness, provided the key evidence. The Court convicted the Appellant solely based on Ram Sumer's testimony.
The Court noted that the case of the prosecution is that firearm injuries caused the death of the deceased and the allegation against the appellant is that he was carrying a knife in his hand, and he assaulted the deceased after the bullets were fired on the deceased by the other two accused.
The Court also noted that a charge under Section 34 of the IPC has not been framed against the appellant.
After noting the cross-examination of PW1, the Court said that serious doubt was created as to whether PW1 had seen the incident of assault by the accused.
Accordingly, the Court set aside the impugned judgments and acquitted the accused no. 3 of the charges were framed against him.
Finally, the Court allowed the Appeal.
Cause Title: Virendra Kumar Chamar v. State of U.P. (Neutral Citation: 2024 INSC 606)
Appearance:
Appellant: Adv. Vishal Vishwadheesh, AOR Manju Jetley and Adv. Shailendra Kumar Singh
Respondent: AOR Adarsh Upadhyay, Adv. Rajesh Kumar Singh, Adv. Aman Pathak, Adv. Pallavi Kumari, Adv. Shashank Pachauri