Allahabad High Court.
The Allahabad High Court has quashed the life sentences of six accused in the murder of four people. The court acquitted him. So far, all six defendants have been acquitted. The High Court said prosecutors had failed to prove guilt. There were discrepancies in witness statements and evidence. The order was passed by a division bench of Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Mayank Kumar Jain while accepting an appeal filed by Ved alias Vedpal, Ganga, Jagan, Pyare, Rakesh and Bablu alias Balua.
Dinesh’s son Bunty filed an FIR on May 25, 2004, at Dibai police station in Bulandshahr. He alleged that family members Kunwar Singh, Santosh, father Dinesh and Zalim Singh were murdered while sleeping in a tubewell at night due to a feud . The case reached court, and on June 30, 2007, the court of first instance convicted the six defendants. The court sentenced him to life imprisonment.
How do witnesses identify the defendant?
This decision of the trial court was challenged in the High Court. The High Court has now ruled on the matter. The court said the prosecution was unable to prove what the lighting arrangement at the scene was and that the witness would have been able to identify the defendant. Witnesses said they identified the defendant through flashlights.
In this case, investigators were unable to locate the torch from which witnesses claimed they identified the defendant by its light. Therefore, taking into account the witness statements and evidence, the court acquitted the defendant on the presumption of innocence.
