Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 23: A Division Bench of High Court comprising Justice Rajnesh Oswal and Justice Puneet Gupta today set-aside the life-imprisonment awarded to Ram Dayal and Bishan Dass, who were facing trial in a murder case since 1996.
After hearing Senior Advocate Sunil Sethi for the appellants and examining the judgment passed by the trial court, DB observed, “the trial court has placed much reliance upon the disclosure statement as well as recovery of the weapon of offence, which in our opinion, the prosecution has miserably failed to prove”, adding “more so, the trial court has relied upon the statement of prosecution witness Sher Bahadur Singh so far as motive is concerned but in absence of the statement of a girl with whom the appellant Ram Dayal and deceased Lochan Singh were having affair, it cannot be said that the prosecution has proved the motive”.
“We are of the considered view that the trial court has not appreciated the evidence in its right perspective and has even not gone through the whole statement of prosecution witness Harbhajan Singh as there is no mention in the judgment of the trial court with regard to his deposition”, the DB said, adding “the appellants were required to be acquitted as the prosecution had not succeeded in its case beyond reasonable doubt”.
“The judgment of conviction dated 22.03.2008 along with order of sentence dated 24.03.2008 passed by the Principal Sessions Judge, Jammu in a challan titled “State versus Ram Dayal & Anr.” arising out of FIR NO. 60/1996 under Sections 302/34 RPC and 4/27 Arms Act of Police Station, Domana is set aside”, the DB said and acquitted the appellants of the charges.
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