Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 24: Additional Sessions Judge Jammu Tahir Khurshid Raina has acquitted two accused in a murder case as the prosecution has failed to prove charge against them.
As per the police case, Ashok Massih, son of Tarseem Massih of Anand Vihar Tallab Tillo went missing on November 1, 2011 and his body was recovered from the bushes in Sureksha Vihar area by Janipur Police on November 8, 2011.
During the course of investigation, it came to the fore that Ashok Massih was murdered by Ajay Sotra of Tallab Tillo and Arpan Massih of Punjab. Accordingly, they were arrested and after completion of investigation challan was presented in the court.
After trial of the case, Additional Sessions Judge observed, “when case is based on circumstantial evidence, every incriminating fact pleaded in the charge sheet against the accused has to be proved by prosecution beyond reasonable doubt and they be also closely knit to each other to culminate into only one conclusion that the author of the crime are accused and none else”.
“The first defect in the prosecution case is inordinate and unexplained delay of one and half year in lodging an FIR. Once injuries were found on the dead body, FIR should have been lodged in the very first instance”, the court said, adding “during inquest proceedings no witness ever revealed about the accused persons. However, after lodging of an FIR after a long delay, a new story emanated based on incriminating factors like motive, last seen evidence, disclosure, seizure and medical evidence to connect the accused with the commission offence”.
“It was projected by the prosecution that deceased wrote some objectionable letter to the wife of the accused Ajay. She showed it to accused which became source of conflict between the two, culminated into murder of the deceased. However, during the trial neither any such letter was brought before the court nor any witness to this fact has proved this motive of crime attributed to the accused Ajay”, the court further said, adding “rather it was fully negated by the witnesses cited to this fact”.
Court also rejected last seen evidence on the ground that time gap between last seen and time of death requires to be very less to dispel any doubt of intervention of any third person in between. However, the evidence on record on this issue neither mentioned the time when deceased was seen last in the company of accused nor time since death is available.
“Rather the dead body is recovered after eight days of his missing in a fully decomposed state. The disclosure and recovery is also negated by independent witness and the recovery of weapon of offence that is base ball bat is fully clouded with clout and thick layers of doubt and mystery”, the court said, adding “even there is no clear evidence on record as where this alleged weapon of offence was kept after its alleged recovery”.
Court further observed that every incriminating fact was required to be proved to the hilt as it involves life and liberty of the accused who have been tried for commission of alleged offence and are behind the bar for last 7 years.
“Not only there is complete break of chain of prosecution evidence on record but even all incriminating facts projected in the charge sheet against accused have not been proved”, the court said while acquitting the accused.
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