Acquittal in murder case of Accused who was sentenced till last breath of his life by court acquitted by Delhi High Court: Ravi Drall Advocate.
Acquittal in murder case Delhi High Court: Ravi Drall Advocate, Criminal Advocate Delhi.
The Delhi High Court acquitted a man who was convicted in a 2014 murder case, whose body was found in a well in Haryana. Accused was sentenced till his last breath in jail in 2019. He was sentenced till his last breath in jail in 2019. The High Court granted relief giving the benefit of the doubt to the accused as the Prosecution was not able to prove the allegations beyond a reasonable doubt.
The division bench comprising Justices Mukta Gupta and Anish Dayal acquitted Deepak in the matter related to the murder of Samundar Singh. Advocate Ravi Drall appearing for the appellant Deepak argued that the deceased was a notorious criminal who was wanted in various cases of murder, attempt to murder, TADA, dacoity and theft. The post-mortem report was vague and same was not exhibited further the viscera was preserved and sent for chemical examination but report was never brought on record. It was also strange that the wife of the deceased never contacted the deceased for about one month and did not try and locate him in their native village, where the appellant was also residing, the counsel argued.
The High court while acquitting the accused held that the prosecution failed to prove any motive for the alleged crime, as per CDR the accused never visited the place where he dead body was found. Further the recovery of looted car and gold chain can not be attributed to the accused and there were various contradictions in statements of the witnesses.
The court also said that as regards the recovery of the car of the deceased from Dimapur, Nagaland, the evidence tendered by the Prosecution cannot be relied upon. Firstly, police officials stated that they started from Dimapur on July 20, 2014 and arrived in Delhi on July 23, 2014, the malkhana register showed that the car was deposited on July 19, 2014, which is completely contrary, the High Court noted.
It was totally impossible that a car could be driven having started on July 19, 2014 from a remote area in the North-East of Dimapur, Nagaland to arrive in Delhi the same day. The t testimony of police officials itself reporting their arrival on July 23, 2014 in Delhi, the High Court said.
The wife of the deceased has not provided any details of purchase or a bill, though she simply identifies a gold chain and locket in a TIP. However she stated in her deposition that the gold chain and locket did not have any mark of identification or any photograph of the deceased or had any name engraved on it, the High Court noted in the judgement passed on January 13.
The court also said that as regards the recovery of the car of the deceased from Dimapur, Nagaland, the evidence tendered by the Prosecution cannot be relied upon.
Firstly, police officials stated that they started from Dimapur on July 20, 2014 and arrived in Delhi on July 23, 2014, the malkhana register showed that the car was deposited on July 19, 2014, which is completely contrary, the High Court noted.
It was totally impossible that a car could be driven having started on July 19, 2014 from a remote area in the North-East of Dimapur, Nagaland to arrive in Delhi the same day. The testimony of police officials itself reporting their arrival on July 23, 2014 in Delhi, the High Court said.
The bench also noted that the appellant’s presence consistently at Gopal Pur, Kharkhoda, even after the date of crime, would also indicate that he was not absconding and was in fact amongst his family and relatives at his native village and went to Dimapur for four days.
Advocate Ravi Drall appearing for the appellant Deepak argued that the deceased was a notorious criminal who was wanted in various cases of murder, attempt to murder, TADA, dacoity and theft.
It was also strange that the wife of the deceased never called the deceased between May 25, 2014 and June 26, 2014, a period of about one month and did not try and locate him in the native village Gopal Pur, where the appellant was also residing, the counsel argued.
It was also noted that the post-mortem report was never exhibited by the prosecution. Thus in the absence of the post-mortem report and the author thereof having been examined, nor any eyewitness deposing, that the appellant throttled the deceased, it has not been proved that the deceased died a homicidal death.
The statement of the wife of the deceased is vague and ambiguous as she did not contact her husband for one month. Her testimony regarding the inability to communicate with her husband for a long period of time is in fact extremely patchy and does not inspire confidence, the court noted.
A gangster namely Samunder Singh who was accused in TADA Act was missing from his home. A missing complaint was filed by his wife. Later on when the body of Samunder Singh was found the accused was arrested by police on the apprehension of the last seen theory.
At the instance of the accused three mobiles were allegedly recovered from his house. Further, the accused led the police to the office of a finance company, Rohtak Road, Bahadurgarh from where he had allegedly taken a loan against a gold chain looted from the deceased.
Things required to be considered when charging under Section 302
When a person is charged under Section 302 CrPC, it means he has committed a grave offence. People facing criminal charges face serious punishments and consequences, such as imprisonment, having a criminal record, losing family bonds, losing future employment opportunities, and many other things.
Criminal cases are such where the advice of legal professionals is needed to protect rights and secure the best possible results of the case. Therefore, any person charged with murder should keep in mind certain essential things, which are as follows:
- Nature of charges filed against him;
- Defences which are available;
- Arguments that can be prepared.
A criminal defence attorney keeps all the points in mind while framing the arguments he will use during the trial.
When an offender is arrested, he gets certain rights as a citizen of India, which are stated in the Constitution of India. The following are to be remembered:
- Under Section 50 of the CrPC, a person has the right to inform his or her family members, relatives or friends.
- According to Article 22(2) of the Constitution of India, read with Section 57 and Section 167(1) of the CrPC, the accused cannot be detained for more than 24 hours without being presented before a Magistrate.
- According to Section 54 of the CrPC, the detained person has the right to be medically examined.
- According to Article 20(3) of the Constitution of India, the person does not have to confess anything to the police against his will. He has the right to be silent.
- According to Article 22 of the Constitution of India, he has a right to have a lawyer present when questioned. If he could not afford a lawyer, then a lawyer will be appointed by the government.
- He has the right to know all the charges that are framed against him as per Section 50 of the CrPC and Article 22(2) of the Constitution of India.
Advocate Ravi Drall has represented clients in cases related to Anticipatory, regular Bails, Acquittal, Revisions, Appeals, Writs, PIL’s in cases of MCOCA, Cheating, Fraud, Murder, Attempt to murder, Extortion, Dacoity, Sexual Offences, Suicide, Narcotic and Drugs, Revenue and Customs Criminal Cases, Economic Offences, Arms and Weapons, Matrimonial, Domestic Violence, Constitutional Law, Negligence, and have availed favourable decisions from the courts. It is always advisable to seek for the best professional legal advise in case of criminal law as it involves intricate complexities and a small fact lead to an acquittal.