SC acquits 4 in 1990 murder case, says prosecution failed to establish place of incident
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Friday acquitted four persons, who were earlier convicted in a 35-year-old murder case over alleged political rivalry, saying the testimony of two "so-called eyewitnesses" was full of contradictions and inherent improbabilities.
A bench of justices Sanjay Karol and Sandeep Mehta exercised its plenary power under Article 142 of the Constitution to acquit three accused who had not challenged their conviction before the apex court.
The top court delivered its verdict on an appeal filed by one of the accused challenging a April 2009 order of the Madhya Pradesh High Court which upheld the conviction and life sentence awarded to the four.
"In the present case, the prosecution has failed to establish the genesis of the occurrence and the place of incident with any degree of certainty," the bench said.
It said the FIR speaks of demolition of a hut by the accused persons near the residence of one of the prosecution witnesses.
The bench said another prosecution witness shifted the crime scene to nearby his own house and denied any demolition.
It noted that one of the other prosecution witnesses claimed that the assault occurred in a field.
"They (two prosecution witnesses) do not acknowledge each other's presence at the crime scene. Such conflicting versions cannot co-exist within a credible narrative," the bench said.
It said the suppression of the genesis of occurrence and the shifting of the place of incident demolish the very substratum of the prosecution case.
"In this background, we are of the firm opinion that it would not be safe to uphold the conviction of the accused-appellant (Kannaiya) and the three co-accused namely Govardhan, Raja Ram and Bhima, as the testimony of the so-called eyewitnesses... is full of contradictions and inherent improbabilities," the top court said.
It said since the entire case of the prosecution has fallen, all the four convicts were entitled to be extended the benefit of doubt.
"Hence, we are inclined to extend the benefit of this judgment, in exercise of our powers under Article 142 of the Constitution of India, 1950, to the three co-accused namely, Govardhan, Raja Ram, and Bhima, who have not challenged their conviction before this court," the bench said.
It set aside the judgements of the high court as well as the trial court which convicted the four.
The bench said the four accused be released from custody forthwith, if not wanted in any other case.
A trial court in Indore had in October 1999 convicted them while acquitting six other accused in the case.
The bench noted that an FIR was registered in September 1990 alleging that 10 persons were damaging a temporary hutment and when the son of the informant tried to pacify them, he was assaulted.
It was said that the victim died while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Indore.
It was alleged that the assailants were having a political rivalry with the complainant party and that was the cause of the assault.
During the trial, the accused persons had denied the allegations and claimed innocence.
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Women's quota bill would have ensured defeat of democracy, Constitution: Aaditya Thackeray
Mumbai (PTI): Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Saturday said that the passage of the women's quota bill would have ensured a "total defeat of democracy", alleging that the legislation, linked with a delimitation exercise, was a political tool designed to reduce the voice of states.
Thackeray, in a post on X, claimed that the Bill would have amended the Constitution for the political means of the ruling regime to increase seats, reduce the voice of many states and enable the gerrymandering of constituencies to ensure unfair victories.
"The very amendment that would have ensured the total defeat of democracy and the Constitution in India stands rejected by the unity of the Opposition MPs," he wrote.
The legislation should have been called "Delimitation to ensure unfair victory Bill", the former minister said, adding that there was a genuine need to enable 33 per cent reservation for women in the current number of seats.
"Now, it is up to the government to ensure that it is implemented in the 543 seats of the Lok Sabha for the 2029 elections and all elections across India, if that is the real intent of the government," he wrote.
A Constitution Amendment Bill to implement reservation for women in legislatures in 2029 and increase the number of Lok Sabha seats was defeated on Friday in the Lower House.
While 298 members voted in support of the Bill, 230 MPs voted against it. Out of 528 members who voted, the Bill required 352 votes for a two-thirds majority.
According to the Constitution Amendment Bill, Lok Sabha seats were to be increased to a maximum of 850 from the current 543 to "operationalise" the women's reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.
