Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 – s. 378 – Appeal against acquittal – Interference by the appellate court, when: Held: Appellate Court can interfere with the order of acquittal only if it is satisfied after re-appreciating the evidence that the only possible conclusion was that the guilt of the accused had been established beyond a reasonable doubt – Appellate Court cannot overturn order of acquittal only on the ground that another view is possible – Judgment of acquittal must be found to be perverse – Unless the Appellate Court records such a finding, no interference can be made with the order of acquittal – On facts, the High Court converted the acquittal of the appellants into conviction for offence punishable u/ss. 302/34 and s. 323 – High Court did not avert, if the view taken by the trial court was a plausible view that could have been taken based on evidence on record – High Court ignored that an order of acquittal further strengthens the presumption of innocence of the accused – High Court’s finding on the burden of proof is completely erroneous – Finding of the trial court that the evidence of the prosecution witness did not inspire confidence is a possible finding which could have been recorded on the basis of the evidence on record – No reason for the High Court to overturn the order of acquittal when the findings of the trial court were possible findings that could be arrived at after re-appreciating evidence – Thus, the order of acquittal of the appellants upheld – Judgment and order of the High Court set aside, and that of the trial court restored – Penal Code, 1860 – ss. 302 rw 34 and s.
323. [Paras 6, 7, 10, 11]
Evidence – Burden of proof – Discharge of, by the accused, when:
Held: Unless, under the relevant penal statute, there is a negative burden put on the accused or there is a reverse onus clause, the accused is not required to discharge any burden – In a case where there is a statutory presumption, after the prosecution discharges initial burden, the burden of rebuttal may shift on the accused – In the absence of the statutory provisions the burden was on the prosecution to prove the guilt of the accused beyond a reasonable doubt [Para 7]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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