"No Credible Evidence At All": Supreme Court Sets Aside Conviction In 1988 Murder Case
The Supreme Court allowed Criminal Appeals of three accused persons against the Rajasthan High Court's Judgment, which upheld their conviction under Section 302 of IPC.
The Supreme Court has set aside a conviction in murder case, saying that there is no credible evidence at all to connect the accused persons with the death of the deceased.
The Court was dealing with Criminal Appeals filed by the accused persons against the Judgment of the Rajasthan High Court by which it upheld their conviction under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC).
The two-Judge Bench of Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan observed, "... it is for the prosecution to connect the accused to the murder of the deceased by producing credible and legally admissible evidence. However, as we have seen, there is no credible evidence at all to connect the accused persons with the homicidal death of Ahsan. In such circumstances, the appellants are entitled to the benefit of doubt."
Brief Facts
In 1988, an FIR was lodged stating that one Ahsan Ali (deceased) and the informant were on the way to the residence of the in-laws of the deceased at night. While the deceased was talking to his relatives in the shop of his brother-in-law, he was seen by the accused persons. This was noticed by the informant who knew them and also about the strained relationship between the deceased and the accused persons. He suggested to him that while returning home, they should change the route, however, the deceased insisted on going through the same route by which they had come. While returning, at midnight, suddenly the accused persons (seven in number), allegedly accosted them and attacked them with knives.
Allegedly, the first knife was inflicted on the deceased’s stomach, the second injury was inflicted on his chest, and then the injury was inflicted by a katar (sword) on his backside. The accused persons chased the informant but he ran into a hotel lane and when they did not find him, they returned and started assaulting the deceased. The informant somehow managed to escape and went to the Police Station to lodged an FIR. The Trial Court convicted the Appellants (three in number) under Sections 302 and 148 of IPC and the High Court upheld the same, but modified that the conviction was under Sections 302 and 149 of the IPC. Hence, the accused persons approached the Apex Court.
Reasoning
The Supreme Court in view of the facts and circumstances of the case, noted, “There is no doubt that the death of Ahsan is homicidal. Medical evidence has also confirmed multiple stab injuries on his body leading to profuse bleeding and death. According to the prosecution, it is the accused who had committed murder of Ahsan."
The Court said that Section 27 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (IEA) cannot come to the aid of the prosecution.
"Moreover, the clothes of the accused were not seized and sent for forensic examination to find out whether there were any bloodstains. Such examination would have revealed whether there were any bloodstains on the clothes; whether those bloodstains were of human blood; and whether those matched the blood of the deceased”, it added.
Accordingly, the Apex Court allowed the Appeals and set aside the conviction of the accused persons.
Cause Title- Abdul Wahid & Anr. v. State of Rajasthan (Neutral Citation: 2025 INSC 295)
