Supreme Court acquits man sentenced to life for murder, finds prosecution evidence unreliable
Justices Abhay S Oka & Ujjal Bhuyan [08-07-2024]

Read Order: LAL MOHAMMAD MANJUR ANSARI v. THE STATE OF GUJRAT [SC- CRL APPEAL NO. 3524 OF 2023]

LE Correspondent

New Delhi, July 9, 2024: The Supreme Court has acquitted a man who was convicted for murder by the Sessions Court and sentenced to life imprisonment, observing that there was no evidence connecting the appellant-convict with the murder of the deceased. The conviction was earlier upheld by the High Court.

A bench of Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan observed that “after having carefully perused the evidence of the hostile prosecution witnesses (PW­3 to PW­9), we find that there is nothing in the evidence which could be relied upon by the prosecution for connecting the appellant with the murder of the deceased”.

The incident occurred on September 6, 2004, in a room rented by the accused and the deceased in Surat, Gujarat. The prosecution's case relied on the testimony of eyewitnesses, an extra-judicial confession made by the accused to his employer, and a dying declaration made by the deceased.

However, the Supreme Court found several discrepancies and gaps in the prosecution's evidence. The Top Court noted that the alleged extra-judicial confession made by the accused to his employer, PW-19, was highly unnatural and doubtful. Moreover, a crucial police witness, PSI Mishra, to whom the confession was allegedly conveyed, was not examined by the prosecution.

The Apex Court also found the dying declaration made by the deceased to PW-24 unreliable, as another witness stated that the deceased was unconscious when he was put in an auto-rickshaw to be taken to the hospital. The testimony of the eyewitnesses, who were declared hostile, also failed to connect the accused with the murder.

The Supreme Court observed that there was nothing in their evidence that could be relied upon by the prosecution. Consequently, the Supreme Court allowed the appeal, set aside the conviction and sentence, and acquitted Lal Mohammad Manjur Ansari of the murder charges. The Court directed that the appellant be set at liberty unless he is required to be detained in connection with any other case.