Penal Code, 1860 – ss.34, 302, 307 – Murder – Failure to carry fair investigation – Appellants-accused convicted for murder of deceased and sentenced to life imprisonment whereas acquittal of accused no.1 – Bail applications by appellants – Sessions court relied on the affidavits of two eye-witnesses and granted bail – High Court upheld the order of the trial court – Correctness:
Held: Three out of four eyewitnesses admittedly filed the affidavits during the bail hearing of the accused, stating that the accused not involved – Investigating Officer did not controvert the affidavits by filing a counter-affidavit, though time was granted to him – Thus, by failing to carry out further investigation on the basis of affidavits, the prosecution failed to carry out a fair investigation – Moreover, prosecution tried to suppress the affidavits – Serious doubt created about the truthfulness of the versions of three prosecution witnesses-eye witnesses before the Court – As the prosecution did not conduct a fair investigation and suppressed important material in the form of affidavits of the prosecution witnesses-eye witnesses, unsafe to convict the appellants only on the basis of the testimony of the informant – Failure to conduct further investigation based on the affidavits goes to the root of the matter – Failure to recover the weapons of offence also relevant – Failure on the part of the High Court and the Session Court to consider the cross-examination of Investigating Officer and the suppression of the affidavits by the prosecution – High Court overlooked these highly relevant aspects – Thus, the impugned judgment set aside and the appellants acquitted of the offences alleged against them. [Paras 20-24, 26]
Practice and procedure – Record of trial court not to be referred as “lower court record” – Reiteration of the direction issued by this Court – Describing any Court as a “Lower Court” against the ethos of our Constitution – High Courts to take note of the said direction and act upon the same. [Para 25]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Headnotes prepared by: Nidhi Jain. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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