Possibility Of Mistaken Identity Cannot Be Ruled Out: Supreme Court Acquits Murder Accused
The Supreme Court acquitted a murder accused observing that there is a possibility of mistaken identity.
The Court noted that the incident took place in the year 2006, and the appellant was arrested in the year 2008. The Court held that a conviction relying solely on the appellant's identification in court, made for the first time over four and a half years after the incident, would not be sufficient to maintain the same.
Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice Sandeep Mehta observed, “It is further to be seen that apart from the identification parade not being held, the accused/present Appellant was shown to the witnesses by the Police. As such, we are of the considered view that conviction only on the basis of identification of the accused in the Court for the first time after four and half years of the incident would not be sufficient for maintaining the same.”
Sr. Advocate A. Sirajudeen represented the appellant, while Advocate Alim Anvar appeared for the respondent.
In this case, the appellant, who was concurrently convicted for murder argued that his identification for the first time in the Court without holding ‘Test Identification Parade’ created serious doubt on the reliability of the evidence.
“It is further to be seen that apart from the identification parade not being held, the accused/present Appellant was shown to the witnesses by the Police…The possibility of mistaken identity also cannot be ruled out. In the first charge-sheet, the present Appellant was described as ‘Unni’, whereas in the second charge-sheet, he was described as Suresh alias Vadi Suresh” the Court remarked.
Lastly, the Court also questioned the credibility of the recovery of an iron rod allegedly linked to the crime. The recovery, made over two years after the incident, raised doubts - “It is difficult to believe as to how the blood stains still remained on the said iron rod which was recovered from an open place after about 2 years and 2 months and when in the intervening period two monsoons had passed. As such, no credence could be given to the said recovery.”
Accordingly, the Supreme Court acquitted the appellant of all the charges and allowed the appeal.
Cause Title: Suresh @ Unni @ Vadi Suresh v. The State of Kerala (Neutral Citation: 2024 INSC 350)
Appearance:
Appellant: Sr. Advocate A. Sirajudeen; AOR Manjeet Chawla; Advocate Usha Pant Kukreti
Respondent: Advocates Alim Anvar and Anu K Joy; AOR Nishe Rajen Shonker