Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Apr 30: High Court has upheld the trial court judgment of framing charges against the accused-petitioner in murder and drug trafficking case and said that there is sufficient ground that the petitioner-accused has committed the offences.
Accused Azizul Rehman through the medium of petition under Section 482 of Cr.P.C challenged the order of conviction passed by the trial court whereby charges for offences under Sections 302/109/34 RPC and 8/21/27 NDPS Act have been framed against the accused including the petitioner -Rehman.
“Thus, considering the material on record in the light of ratio laid down by the Supreme Court, there appears to be sufficient ground for presuming that the petitioner has committed the offences. At this stage, it would not be open for this court to pronounce a verdict on the reliability of the statements of witnesses, who have clearly in their statements linked the petitioner-Rehman with the commission of the alleged crime”, Justice Sanjay Dhar concluded and said there is no merit in the petition as such conviction order of trial court is well reasoned and lucid and do not call for any interference.
It is on 29.06.2019, the police received information that one person Mohammad Mukhtyar had consumed some narcotic drug and that he has been taken to hospital where he breathed his last in suspicious circumstances.
The police initiated the inquest proceedings under Section 174 Cr.P.C so as to ascertain the cause of death of the deceased. During these proceedings, it was found that the deceased had advanced a sum of Rs.80,000 to the accused Irfan Khan and when the said amount was demanded back by the deceased, the accused in connivance with other accused, after purchasing four doses of heroine (Chitta), administered double dose of Chitta to the deceased with an intention to kill him.
Accordingly, the police registered a FIR bearing Registration No. 74/2019 for offences under Sections 302/109 RPC and started investigation of the case. Upon investigation of the case, offences under Sections 302/109/34 RPC and 8/21/27 NDPS Act were found established against the accused including the petitioner-Rehman.
Justice Dhar after perusal of record and law laid down by the Supreme Court with regard to case in hand said, it is clear that, at the time of framing of a charge, the court is not expected to make a roving enquiry into the pros and cons of the matter and weigh the evidence as if it was conducting the trial.
The material on record, court added has to be evaluated only to find out whether the offences which the accused is alleged to have committed are made out and the evidence assembled by the investigating agency is required to be sifted and weighed by the Court only for the limited purpose of finding out, whether or not, a prima face case against the accused is made out.
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