APCR Karnataka Chapter gets new state executive body
Bengaluru: Association for Protection of Civil Right (APCR) Karnataka Chapter on Sunday elected a new team of state executive members through election in the presence of organisation’s national convener and Supreme Court lawyer Abubaker Sabaq here in Bengaluru.
The new team of state executive members included the State General Secretary of the organisation Advocate Niyaz Ahmed of Bengaluru, noted RTI Activist of the state Shaikh Shafi Ahmed of Gulbarga, Founding member of the organisation Advocate Mahmood Qazi of Bijapur, Retd. DySP Ishaq of Chitradurga, Tajuddin Sharif of Tumkur, Advocate Abdul Salam of Bengaluru and Mohammed Fazal.
During the election it was also decided that the seven-member team will nominate four members to the executive body before electing the office bearers of the organisation for a term of four years.
National co-ordinator Abubaker Sabaq, during his address to the District office bearers and activists added that the organisation should aim to work on ground level, reach out to people and offer legal assistance to connect with the people and earn their trust.
“When you are working as activists, it is very important to connect with the problem and offer help to them. You have to reach out to them to earn their trust. You have to understand the political scenario of the state and country to become better activists” he advised activists and office bearers.
“In the current scenario, it is very important to safeguard civil rights of the people. As an activist you have to be on your toes and be of help to the victims irrespective of their caste, religion, color or any other ground” he further added.
APCR National Joint Secretary Rafeeq Ahmed, congratulated the newly elected state executive members and urged them to be committed to work for ensuring justice for the oppressed section or individuals of the society.
Mohammad Yousuf Kanni lauded the work being done in the state by the organisation and added that APCR has become the voice of voiceless people in the state, while also noting some of the remarkable work of the organisation in the state.
APCR State President Advocate Saduddin Saleh, who opted out of the election owing to his health issues, Karnataka APCR Patron Mohammad Yousuf Kanni, APCR National Joint Secretary Rafeeq Ahmed were also present during the event along with APCR office bearers, activists and District Representatives.
Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) is a civil rights's group comprised of advocates, social activists and grassroots para- legal social workers dedicated to using the legal system to protect and advance the civil and human rights in India. APCR, a non- profit and governmental civil rights's group was set up in 2006 to defend the rights of the underprivileged sections of the society.
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Circumstantial evidence can be used for conviction if it leads to guilt only: SC
New Delhi(PTI): Circumstantial evidence can be used to convict an accused in a criminal case if it is of such a nature that is "consistent only with his guilt", the Supreme Court said on Thursday.
Setting aside the conviction and life sentence of a man accused in a 2004 murder case, a bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Prashant Kumar Mishra reiterated the legal principle that the "last seen together" theory alone is insufficient to sustain a conviction in cases resting entirely on circumstantial evidence.
"It is a well-established rule in criminal jurisprudence that circumstantial evidence can be made the basis of the conviction of an accused person if it is of such a character that it is wholly inconsistent with the innocence of the accused and is consistent only with his guilt," Justice Mishra, who authored the judgement, said.
The verdict said in a case that lacks direct evidence, the incriminating circumstances being used against the accused must be such as to lead only to a hypothesis of guilt and must exclude every other possibility of the innocence of the accused.
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"And if the circumstances proved against the accused, in a particular case, are consistent with the innocence of the accused, he will be entitled to the benefit of the doubt," it said.
The bench acquitted appellant Manoj alias Munna, granting him the benefit of the doubt after finding significant gaps in the prosecution's chain of evidence.
Referring to the facts of the case, the court said, "We are of the opinion that the nature of circumstantial evidence available against the appellant though raises a doubt that he may have committed the offence but the same is not so conclusive that he can be convicted only on the evidence of the last seen together (theory)."
It is a settled proposition that whenever any doubt emanates in the mind of the court, the benefit shall accrue to the accused and not the prosecution, it added.
"The present case is one where except for the evidence of last seen together, there is no other corroborative evidence against the appellant. Therefore, the conviction only on the basis of last seen together cannot be sustained," it said while setting aside the impugned judgments.
The case dates back to June 2004. The prosecution had alleged that Manoj, along with five co-accused, killed one Yuvraj Singh Patle, a tractor driver, to steal the vehicle and sell it.
The deceased was found with burn injuries and ligature marks on his neck.
While the trial court acquitted the five other co-accused, Manoj was convicted under sections 302 (murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code, primarily based on the testimony of witnesses who saw him leaving with the deceased on the evening of June 6, 2004.
The Chhattisgarh High Court upheld his conviction in 2011.
