ACQUITTAL WARRANTED WHERE EYEWITNESSES TURN HOSTILE AND RECOVERY OF WEAPONS LACKS CORROBORATION BY FORENSIC EVIDENCE

The appellant was accused of murdering his father, Sukar Kumar, on the night of June 2, 2014, following a domestic quarrel

A Merg intimation was filed by the village Kotwar based on hearsay information from one Shyam Lal

The prosecution alleged the appellant assaulted the deceased with a walking cane (Bahinga) and a bamboo stick

The trial court, relying on the testimony of the wife and daughter of the deceased and an FSL report, convicted the appellant under Section 302 IPC, sentencing him to life imprisonment

The appellant challenged this conviction, asserting that the evidence was improperly scanned and failed to establish his involvement

1. Whether the prosecution established the guilt of the appellant beyond reasonable doubt based on the testimonies of the eyewitnesses.

2. Whether the recovery of the alleged murder weapons and the subsequent FSL report provided sufficient circumstantial evidence to sustain a conviction.

The court primarily applied Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) regarding the punishment for murder

It adhered to the fundamental principle of criminal jurisprudence that the prosecution must prove its case beyond reasonable doubt, particularly highlighting that in cases based on circumstantial evidence or eyewitness testimony, the evidence must be cogent, reliable, and form an unbroken chain

The court also applied Section 374 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, regarding the right to appeal against conviction

The High Court scrutinized the testimonies of the supposed eyewitnesses, Asaari Bai (PW-2) and Sunita Kumari (PW-3), the wife and daughter of the deceased respectively. It found that both witnesses turned hostile; the wife stated she was away at the time of the incident, and the daughter claimed total ignorance of how her father died

Furthermore, the court noted that the individuals who allegedly witnessed the quarrel (Dhaniram and Chandru) were never examined by the prosecution

Regarding the physical evidence, the court observed that the independent witnesses to the seizure of the murder weapons (PW-4 and PW-6) also turned hostile

Crucially, the court found that the FSL report (Ex.P.-20) failed to confirm the presence of human blood on the seized articles, thereby breaking the link between the appellant and the alleged crime

The High Court set aside the judgment of conviction and the order of sentence dated January 24, 2015, passed by the Sessions Judge, Jashpur. The appeal was allowed, and the appellant’s bail bonds and sureties were ordered to be discharged