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| HC sets aside life-imprisonment | | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
Jammu, Aug 21: In a criminal appeal filed against judgment of Trial Court whereby Trial Court awarded life-imprisonment and fine Rs 5000/- to Vinod Kumar alias Jumbu and Sushil Kumar alias Manka sons of Dev Raj r/o Old Basti Bahu-Fort, a Division Bench of Jammu & Kashmir High Court (Jammu Wing) comprising Justice JP Singh and Justice Mohd Yaqoob Mir after hearing Adv Rajneesh Oswal for the appellants, AAG Gagan Basotra for the State of J&K and after gone through the judgment of Trial Court awarded on May 1, 2009, set-aside the judgment of trial Court and acquitted both the accused.
According to the prosecution case on May 12, 2006 while ASI Darshan Kumar on patrolling a dead-body of one male was found lying near Saryara Sabha Press Morh, dead body was identified that of Ravinder Kumar s/o Nand Lal. The case was transferred to Crime Branch and during their investigation found that accused and deceased had old enmity on the basis of which they had a fight in the year 1993 for which case was tried against the father of the deceased along with other accused. The said case was decided in 2001 whereby father and other accused are acquitted in the said case. On the basis of said enmity on the date of occurrence accused and deceased attended marriage ceremony of son of Harbans Lal, accused Vinod took the deceased from his house with him for attending the marriage, one Bodh Raj brother-in-law of the deceased and all the three went to a Dhaba where they consumed liquor. Bodh Raj left the place and accused Vinod Kumar and deceased proceeded to attend the marriage. Deceased was having one packet of liquor which was brought by accused Vinod Kumar and they again consumed liquor, under the influence of liquor deceased fell down and in order to take advantage of this accused called his brother Sushil Kumar and both of them took the deceased from the spot to the place of occurrence where they pressed the neck and legs of the deceased till he was dead. In order to destroy his identity they attacked on the face of deceased with stone and thereafter both fled from the spot and again went to attend the marriage. A case u/s 302/34 RPC committed by the accused persons as per the investigation conducted by the IO Kanya Lal of Crime Branch. After completion of the investigation challan was presented in the Court of law.
DB while setting-aside the judgment of Trial Court observed that in the circumstances, when the trial Court too has not disputed or questioned that part of the opinion of the Doctor that the deceased had died due to asphyxia as a result of aspiration of food particles. DB, therefore, do not find any merit in the State counsel's submission that the medical evidence produced by the prosecution was only an opinion and did not affect the prosecution case. Looked in the background of the prosecution case as projected by its witnesses, it becomes difficult to ignore the categoric opinion of the Doctor that the death of the deceased was due to asphyxia as a result of aspiration of food particles, which opinion, goes in line with the facts proved by the prosecution suggesting reasonable possibility of Ravinder Kumar's death by aspiration of food particles because, being heavily drunk, he had become unconscious before his death.
In view of the facts and circumstances of the case, the irresistible conclusion is that the prosecution has failed to prove that Ravinder Kumar had died because of the Stone injury inflicted by the appellants. The death of Ravinder Kumar having thus been caused due to asphyxia as a result of aspiration of food particles and not because of any injury on the head, the evidence produced by the prosecution to indicate that the appellants were last seen with the deceased before his death cannot be said to be sufficient to hold the appellants responsible for the death of Ravinder Kumar. With these observations DB setting-aside the conviction and sentenced awarded by Trial Court Jammu vide his judgment dated May 1, 2009 and acquitted the appellants directing the respondents to set them to liberty forthwith. DB declined the confirmation reference made by the Trial Court. JNF |
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