Penal Code, 1860 – s.364-A – Kidnapping for ransom, etc. – Offence u/s.364-A, if prima-facie made out against appellant: Held: No – No investigation was conducted to determine whether the house from where the child (PW-12) was recovered belonged to appellant or not – Appellant was not identified either by the father (PW-13) of the child or the child himself – No cogent evidence regarding any ransom demand made by the appellant – Furthermore, the child in his testimony did not depose anything to the effect that appellant had threatened him to cause death or hurt – Prosecution’s case suffers with infirmities and creates serious doubt insofar as the involvement of appellant in the present crime is concerned – It failed to prove conditions together as envisaged u/s.364-A, in particular, paragraph 33 of the judgment of this Court in Shaik Ahmed case – Judgment of sentence and conviction passed by the 1st Additional Sessions Judge, confirmed in appeal by the High Court, set-aside. [Paras 12-14, 15] Penal Code, 1860 – s.364-A – Kidnapping for ransom, etc. – Three essential ingredients – Discussed. [Para 10] Words and Phrases – ‘and’ after the first condition in s.364-A, Penal Code, 1860 – Significance, stated. [Para 10]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Headnotes prepared by: Divya Pandey. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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