3 on death row acquitted by SC after 7 years in jail

3 on death row acquitted by SC after 7 years in jail

New Delhi: 16.12.2021

In a big relief to three prisoners who have been living under the shadow of death after being sentenced to death by a trial court and the Allahabad high court, the Supreme Court on Wednesday acquitted them in the murder case of six people who were slaughtereed in 2014 in UP’s Bulandshahr district, reports Amit Anand Choudhary.

A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao, B R Gavai and B V Nagarathna said that the prosecution failed to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt against the accused and remarked that it is “shocked” and “amazed” by the manner in which the trial court and Allahabad HC dealt with the case to prove guilt of the accused in the case.

‘We are amazed by manner in which HC has dealt with issue’

It said that some of the findings of the HC are “foreign” to criminal jurisprudence and the HC order also fell in the ambit of conjectures and surmises. “We are amazed by the manner in which the high court has dealt with the present matter,” the bench said while allowing the appeal filed by the accused Momin Khan, Jaikam Khan and Sajid. “We, therefore, find that the prosecution has utterly failed to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt. The conviction and death sentence imposed on the accused is totally unsustainable in law,” the bench said.

Momin was accused of murdering his parents, brother and other relatives following a property dispute, with the help of Jaikam and Sajid. Momin’s wife was also sentenced to death by the trial court but the HC set aside her conviction.

According to the prosecution, on January 23, 2014 all the four accused killed Momin’s father, mother, brother Shaukeen Khan, sister-in-law Shanno, nephew and his brother’s niece in Bulandshahr.

After analysing all evidence, the apex court said that the trial court and HC had erred in convicting them when the evidence was not convincing enough to prove the guilt. “It is really surprising, as to how the additional sessions judge could have dealt with the present case in such a casual manner when he was considering the question of life and death of four accused,” it said.

The bench said that the findings of the trial court and the HC was not only contrary to the well settled law of the Evidence Act but attempts were made to put a burden on the accused, which does not shift unless prosecution has proved the case beyond reasonable doubt.