LI Network
Published on: February 8, 2024 at 14:08 IST
In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court acquitted three men accused in a murder case dating back to 2003, emphasizing that the alteration or modification of charges after twenty-one years, especially when the accused had already served more than seven years in incarceration, was not permissible.
The apex court clarified that due to the acquittal of two out of the three accused by the High Court, the condition required to establish an unlawful assembly could not be met.
The accused had allegedly entered the complainant’s house, assaulting his parents, who subsequently succumbed to their injuries and died. The convictions were made with the aid of Section 149 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan noted, “As regards the offence punishable under Section 460 of the IPC, there was no specific role attributed to any of the accused…and all of them have been convicted only with the aid of Section 149 of the IPC. It is established that there was no unlawful assembly as two out of five accused have been acquitted. The High Court could have altered the charge by applying Section 34 instead of Section 149 of the IPC, but that was not done.”
The Supreme Court underscored that since the Punjab and Haryana High Court had acquitted two out of the three accused, there was no unlawful assembly within the meaning of Section 141 of the IPC.
In analyzing eyewitness testimonies, the court observed that the witnesses did not specify which accused and in what manner they assaulted the deceased. The judgment highlighted the absence of concrete evidence connecting any accused to the injuries sustained by the deceased.
“It is very difficult to connect any accused with the injuries sustained by the deceased in the absence of any cogent evidence. Therefore, it is not possible to uphold the conviction for the offence punishable under Section 302 of the IPC,” the court concluded.
Considering that the accused had already served sentences exceeding seven years, which surpassed the potential sentences for the offenses in the case, the Supreme Court set aside the impugned judgment and allowed the appeal.
Case Title: Kishore & Ors. v. State of Punjab (2024 INSC 91)