Breaking: MP High Court Acquits Man Wrongly Convicted For Murder And Imprisoned For 13 Years, Directs State To Pay Him Rs. 42 Lakhs For Malicious Investigation

The High Court of Madhya Pradesh recently set aside the conviction of a man for murder and further directed the State to pay him compensation worth Rs. 42 Lakhs, observing that his conviction was a result of a botch and maliciously motivated investigation by an 'outrightly partisan' police. While directing the State to pay compensation, the division bench of Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Sunita Yadav further held that the Appellant was free to proceed against the State for an action in tort for malicious prosecution- In view of what we have held hereinabove, the fact that the Appellant has spent more than thirteen years awaiting justice and, in the facts and circumstances unique to this case, we award the Appellant a compensation of Rs. 42,00,000/- (rupees forty two lakhs), which shall be paid by the State within ninety days from the date of this order. Thereafter, it shall attract an interest of 9% per annum till the date of payment. This does not preclude the Appellant in proceeding against the State for an action in tort for malicious prosecution. If he succeeds in the same, the amount of compensation paid to the Appellant in compliance of this order shall be adjusted accordingly.The Court was deciding an appeal preferred by the Appellant against his conviction U/S 302, 201 IPC. As per the Prosecution story, the Appellant had committed murder of his partner. He then borrowed the car of one of the Prosecution Witnesses i.e., Hemant to dispose of her dead body in the ravine at Pachmarhi, wrapped in the bedding, to avoid the discovery of the crime. The Appellant submitted before the Court that he was falsely framed by Hemant, who had connections with the higher echelons of the police establishment. He further alleged that it was Hemant, who in all probability, was the real culprit who murdered the deceased. He further argued that the police never really investigated into the role of Hemant in the offence. The Appellant also negated the Prosecution story regarding him borrowing the car from Hemant by asserting that it was highly unlikely that the Appellant would've borrowed his car, owing to their rivalry due to college politics. He also pointed out to discrepancies in the testimony of Hemant's driver who, as per the Prosecution story, was present with the Appellant when he allegedly disposed of the body. Per contra, the State submitted that the Appellant was rightly convicted for the offence. It was argued that though the evidence was circumstantial in nature, the guilt of the Appellant was proved beyond reasonable doubt. The State brought the Court's attention to the forensic report which had detected human blood on the mat of the car on which the bedding was placed. They also referred to the post-mortem report to argue that the Appellant had strangulated the deceased. Examining the submissions of the parties and the trial court record, the Court noted that Hemant and his driver were the main witnesses in the case and that neither of them were eye witnesses to the murder itself. The Court went on to deal elaborately with the testimonies of the two witnesses, pointing out lacunae and contradictory statements. The Court then discussed the testimony of another Prosecution Witness, who was working as a clerk at the toll station on the day of the incident. He had testified that there were four people in the vehicle and not two (as was claimed by the Prosecution). The Court opined that his testimony had shredded the Prosecution story into pieces but it was not considered by the trial court. His statements, the Court added, were binding on prosecution as he was neither declared hostile nor was he re-examined- The statement of PW13 introduces two more passengers about whom the prosecution is completely silent but, was under a duty to investigate and find out who the other two passengers were and most importantly, give an explanation to the Trial Court about it. However, the prosecution does not even fleetingly dwell upon the same or explain the anomaly. The Court then moved on to analyse the forensic evidence relied upon by the Prosecution and the loopholes in it, starting with the blood stains found in the car- The alleged discovery of human blood from the mat of the car is highly suspicious. Firstly, there is no answer from the prosecution as to why there was a delay of fifteen days in seizing vehicle while it was in the possession of PW1 or PW9 all the while? Secondly, Ex.P13, which is the post-mortem report reflects that all the antemortem injuries are in the nature of abrasions and contusion which could not have resulted in a copious flow of blood from the body, on to the bedding in which the body was wrapped and then on to the mat of the car. The shattering of the skull and separation of the head from the torso are all post-mortem events which stands established by the post-mortem report as (see ...

Breaking: MP High Court Acquits Man Wrongly Convicted For Murder And Imprisoned For 13 Years, Directs State To Pay Him Rs. 42 Lakhs For Malicious Investigation

Zeeshan Thomas

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