Supreme Court acquits two in 1985 murder case, says trial court and High Court failed to consider vital factors

The Supreme Court recently acquitted two men convicted decades ago in a 1985 murder case, finding that that they were and are entitled to the benefit of doubt [Munna Lal v. State of Uttar Pradesh]..A division bench of Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Dipankar Datta found that there were lapses in the police investigation and that the trial court and High Court had failed to consider vital factors that hinted that the accused may have been falsely implicated. There were vital factors that unfortunately did not engage the attention of the courts below, the Supreme Court noted. .The top court further highlighted that it was not giving weightage to the perfunctory police investigation alone in concluding that the accused were entitled to the benefit of doubt. Mere defects in the investigative process by itself cannot constitute grounds for acquittal, the Court noted. Therefore, the Court examined the evidence on record in the case, in detail, to ascertain if the prosecution's allegations against the accused would stand. .On such examination, the top court found that "there is a fair degree of uncertainty in the prosecution story" and that the courts below appeared to have been influenced primarily by the oral testimony of two witnesses, without considering the effect of other surrounding circumstances. .Having considered such earlier ignored circumstances, the top court was of the view that the charge of murder against the accused-appellants was not proved beyond reasonable doubt. .The Supreme Court was hearing an appeal challenging a 2014 Allahabad High Court judgment affirming a 1986 trial court judgment convicting the appellant-accused. The case concerned the death of one, Narayan, who was murdered on September 5, 1985. .Four men were initially accused of the offence. One of the accused died before the trial court took up the matter. After the trial court's conviction of the three remaining accused in 1986, one more accused passed away while the case was pending before the High Court in appeal. In 2014, the High Court confirmed the conviction of the remaining two accused..The Supreme Court, on further appeal, observed that there was material to indicate that there was long-standing enmity between the deceased and the accused, leading to the possibility that the accused was falsely implicated. The top court further took note of several defects in the investigation of the case as well. "The failure/neglect to seize the weapons of offence, on facts and in the circumstances of the present case, has the effect of denting the prosecution story so much so that the same, together with non-examination of material witnesses constitutes a vital circumstance amongst others for granting the appellants the benefit of doubt," the Court noted, in its judgment. .Further, the bench noted that the oral testimony of the witnesses in the case was not free from doubt either. Several key witnesses were not examined in the trial and there was some delay in examining the main prosecution witness, it was observed. Notably, the non-examination of the investigating officer in the case was also viewed as a material lacuna, all of which created reasonable doubts in the prosecution's case, the Supreme Court opined. .Hence, the apex court concluded that the case against the accused had not been proven beyond reasonable doubt. The Court, therefore, acquitted the two accused and ordered their immediate release. "For the reasons aforesaid, this Court is of the opinion that the charge that the appellants had murdered Narayan, cannot be said to have been proved beyond reasonable doubt; hence, they were and are entitled to the benefit of doubt," the Court said. .Advocate Mukesh Giri represented the appellants and advocate Sanjay Kumar Tyagi appeared for the respondents..[Read Judgment]