Criminal Procedure Code, 1973
Section 378(3)—Appeal against acquittal—Interference by Appellate Court—In an appeal against acquittal, the power of appellate court to re-appreciate evidence and come to its own conclusion is not circumscribed by any limitation—Appellate court must not interfere with an order of acquittal merely because a contrary view is permissible, particularly, where the view taken by the trial court is a plausible view based on proper appreciation of evidence and is not vitiated by ignorance/misreading of relevant evidence on record.
[Para 27]
Indian Penal Code, 1860
Section 302 read with Section 34—Murder by policemen—Appeal against acquittal—Prosecution case rested on ocular account as well as on certain circumstances—On the fateful night there was an exchange of fire between men in uniform and members of public, but there is no reliable evidence that exchange of fire was with a view to kill—Deceased did not die of a rifle bullet injury, but died from a .12 bore gun-shot which could not be ascribed to rifles issued to accused persons—Even if empties of rifle cartridges relatable to service rifles issued to accused were found at the spot, culpability of accused persons in causing death of deceased is not inferable—No recovery of a .12 bore gun from any of accused persons facing trial—Whose rifle it was, the prosecution evidence is silent—Continued presence of accused at the spot is a circumstance which goes in favour of the accused, being a conduct that belies a guilty mind—Once ocular account of eye-witness stood discarded, to clinch a conviction on the basis of circumstances, the circumstances ought to have formed a chain so far complete as to indicate that in all human probability it were the persons facing trial and none else who committed the crime—Here the circumstances found proved do not constitute a chain so far complete as to indicate that in all human probability it were the accused persons and no one else who committed the crime—Benefit of doubt rightly extended by trial court in favour of accused persons—Appeal dismissed.
[Paras 28 to 34]