Latest news with #TestIdentificationParade
Indian Express
29-07-2025
- Indian Express
‘Motive to gain compensation': Gujarat High Court acquits three men in post-Godhra rioting case in Anand district
Stating that their conviction in 2006 was 'not based on reliable and corroborative evidence', the Gujarat High Court has acquitted three men in a case of rioting that took place in Lotia Bagod area of Anand district on March 1, 2002, in the aftermath of the burning of the Sabarmati Express train in Godhra on February 27 that year. The HC raised doubts on the deposition of the complainant and prime witness (PW), stating that he had approached the police on March 17, 2002, as he had a 'motive to gain compensation' for his shop. The order pronounced by Justice Gita Gopi on Monday observed that the police had failed to conduct a Test Identification Parade (TIP) and the dock identification of the accused 'would become highly doubtful', especially since none of the accused has been named in the FIR. The court observed that in his deposition, prime prosecution witness Irfan Vohra had not stated about the 'role of all the individual accused whom he had seen in the crowd of 100-200 people'. While four of the nine persons who were tried by the Anand Fast Track Court were convicted to five years of rigorous imprisonment and other concurrent sentences – ranging from one-month rigorous to one-month simple imprisonment in offences of unlawful assembly, armed with deadly weapons, rioting and arson – one of the criminal appeals was abated as the accused, Alpesh Navinchndra Patel, died in May 2009. While five accused were acquitted with the trial court giving them 'benefit of doubt', the four accused were found guilty. The court said in its order, 'The learned Trial Court Judge had erred in the appreciation of the evidence. Conviction is not based on reliable and corroborative evidence. The identification of the accused has not been proved during the trial. The present appellants whether (they) were the member of the unlawful assembly was not proved, and that they had common object of creating arson had not been proved, and any act of the appellants accused in prosecution of the common object, of setting things on fire and damaging the private and public property had not been proved during the trial. The appeals are allowed. The judgment of conviction and order of sentence… is quashed and set aside.' The court said that since it had been 'more than 19 years', it would 'not be in the interest of the accused to remit or remand the matter to the trial court from the stage of recording the supplementary statement of the concerned accused'. The court order stated, 'Failure to put material circumstances to the accused amounts to serious irregularity, which may vitiate the trial if the irregularity has prejudiced the accused…' The prosecution case was that the four accused, along with five others, had 'assembled for the purpose of prosecution of common object, armed with the instruments for setting fire, and, with deadly weapons, formed unlawful assembly, and the members, using force, committed riots… set the complainant's and other witnesses' shop on fire… broke the shops of the complainant and other witnesses and caused damage by committing theft of goods and materials from the shop.' The court also considered the submissions of the advocate for the petitioners, which stated that while Anand Town Police station had seen a suo motu complaint on March 2, 2002, the alleged complainant only recorded his statement before the police on March 17 that year. The court order stated, 'In the instant case (the prosecution witness) sat tight, and only on March 17, 2002, they (are) said to have gone to the police. The police at the place of incident was the one engaged in bandobast, but Anand is a small place, where the Police Station would be at a reasonable distance. Till March 17, 2002, the witnesses did not disclose the name… or having witnessed the incident.' It further said, 'The evidence of PW3 (Vohra) as eyewitness is not corroborated by any other witnesses examined, much less by (the witness) who had accompanied him. So no reliance can be placed on the uncorroborated evidence of (Vohra) who even had failed to identify the accused in the Court.' The court said that the conviction of the accused on the basis of the deposition (Vohra) by the trial court is 'not safe without corroboration'. The HC order stated, 'The witness-PW3 (Vohra) has gone to Police Station only on March 17, 2002. He has the motive to gain compensation for his shop. Further the incident by the mob is the aftermath of Godhra incident and when a mob of 100-150 persons were involved, without corroboration and the specific evidence of individual acts of each appellant-accused no conviction can sustain.' The court observed that even the identification of the accused by their names does not match the mononyms given by the complainant, nor could he state which of the person was causing the destruction. 'When more than one accused is involved in a crime, the witness must identify them specifically… The complainant was in the business of lubricating oil. There is no investigation in this respect, if the oil was looted by the accused, then the actual connection to the crime of the accused could have been proved…' the court said.
Indian Express
28-07-2025
- Indian Express
Telangana HC suspends man's sentence over child's rape-murder; points out lapses in identification, prolonged incarceration
Emphasising significant concerns regarding the identification process conducted and the prolonged period of incarceration, the Telangana High Court recently suspended the sentence of a man convicted of raping and murdering a child in 2019, and granted him bail pending the appeal. The order, delivered on July 24 by a bench of Justices Moushumi Bhattacharya and B R Madhusudhan Rao, stated, '…the inordinate and unexplained delay of 150 days in conducting the Test Identification Parade, coupled with the circumstances in which the material witnesses…saw a person running away from the scene of offence without seeing his face, read with the conclusion of the Trial Court that it was not possible to identify the petitioner/accused from the video footage, nullifies the value of the Test Identification Parade.' The case stemmed from a complaint lodged on May 9, 2019, by the father of a 7-year-old boy, who was found dead with head injuries after being sent to a shop near their home the day before. The investigation led to the apprehension of the appellant on May 13 that year, based on CCTV footage and suspicion raised by a witness. The prosecution alleged that the appellant lured the deceased, committed unnatural sexual acts, and then fatally hit the child's head on the ground. The appellant was convicted on July 20, 2021, for offences under sections 363 (kidnapping), 377 (unnatural offences), and 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and Section 5(m) read with Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. He was awarded multiple sentences for the offences, including rigorous imprisonment of five years, life imprisonment, and two sentences of 10 years each, all of which were directed to run concurrently. The division bench, however, noted several critical issues with the prosecution's case, one of them being that there were no eyewitnesses to the alleged unnatural sex, kidnapping, or murder. The court also highlighted the 'inordinate and unexplained delay' of 150 days in conducting the Test Identification Parade (TIP) after the accused's arrest. The court felt the identification of the appellant by the witnesses was unreliable due to the long delay, noting that the witnesses had only seen a person running away from the scene in the dark and provided a vague description. 'It is settled law that the Test Identification Parade should be held without any unreasonable delay after the arrest of the accused, which is necessary for eliminating the possibility of the accused being shown to the witnesses before the Test Identification Parade,' the order read. The court also found that the Investigating Officer was unable to determine the blood group of the deceased or the accused, nor confirm if the bloodstains on seized items belonged to the accused. The court referred to the precedent set in Batchu Ranga Rao and others v State of Andhra Pradesh, which provides guidelines for releasing accused persons who have been in custody for more than five years. As the appellant had been in jail for over six years as of the order date, the court found it to be sufficient grounds for granting bail. The bail was granted subject to several conditions, including furnishing of a personal bond of Rs 25,000 with two sureties. Rahul V Pisharody is an Assistant Editor with the Indian Express Online and has been reporting from Telangana on various issues since 2019. Besides a focused approach to big news developments, Rahul has a keen interest in stories about Hyderabad and its inhabitants and looks out for interesting features on the city's heritage, environment, history culture etc. His articles are straightforward and simple reads in sync with the context. Rahul started his career as a journalist in 2011 with The New Indian Express and worked in different roles at the Hyderabad bureau for over 8 years. As Deputy Metro Editor, he was in charge of the Hyderabad bureau of the newspaper and coordinated with the team of district correspondents, centres and internet desk for over three years. A native of Palakkad in Kerala, Rahul has a Master's degree in Communication (Print and New Media) from the University of Hyderabad and a Bachelor's degree in Business Management from PSG College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore. Long motorcycle rides and travel photography are among his other interests. ... Read More
Indian Express
23-07-2025
- Indian Express
Mumbai 7/11 blasts: How the prosecution's pressure cooker theory blew up in court
The prosecution in the July 11, 2006 Mumbai serial train blasts case had relied on a key finding in the Maharashtra police's investigation – that the bombs that ripped through the train coaches were packed in pressure cookers that the accused allegedly placed on the luggage racks. While acquitting the 12 accused on July 21, the Bombay High Court, however, raised doubts over the reliability of accounts of certain witnesses who claimed to have seen some of the accused placing 'black rexine bags' with the bomb-filled pressure cookers. Police claimed that during their investigation, one of the accused led them to a marshy location near the tracks on Mira Road from where they recovered 'a brown plastic bag in mud, containing several items, including 7 rubber gaskets, 5 whistles, broken electric wires…' They also seized a five-litre 'Kanchan' brand pressure cooker from the house of another accused, Faisal Ataur Rahman Sheikh. Further, an eye witness, shopkeeper Mohanlal Kumawat, claimed that 'some Kashmiri-looking persons purchased eight cookers' from him in May 2006. The police then went on to join these dots to allege that pressure cookers were used in the blasts. However, the court records that a forensic report indicated that the rubber gaskets and whistles recovered from the spot were 'duplicates, as they did not match the original products from the Kanchan company in terms of markings and physical characteristics'. The bench of Justices Anil S Kilor and Shyam C Chandak said that to examine the Anti-Terrorism Squad's theory, the court needed to ascertain the possible size of the bags allegedly containing the pressure cookers – and whether it would be big enough to attract the witnesses' attention. The court noted that the 'typical dimensions of a five-litre pressure cooker, irrespective of manufacturer, is approximately 41 centimetres in width and 20 cm in height (16.14 x 7.87 inches).' Comparing this to an A4-size sheet, the court said that the 'bag required to put a 5-litre cooker loaded with a bomb will be of a normal size and not an abnormal one that would attract anybody's attention, including that of Prosecution Witness, one Subhash Kamlakar Nagarsekar, and give cue for triggering memory.' The court also said that while the statement of shopkeeper Kumawat is 'relevant for the prosecution's story that the bombs were packed in cookers by the accused', he was not examined or called for Test Identification Parade (TIP). The court notes that five other witnesses who claimed to have seen the 'suspected passengers planting bombs' on the trains were also not examined or called for TIP. Instead, on November 2, 2006, over a 100 days after the blast, the ATS called taxi drivers Santosh Kedar Singh and Rajesh Satpute, who said they transported two accused Asif Khan Bashir Khan and Mohd. Faisal Ataur Rahman Shaikh, respectively, to Churchgate station – a delay that the court took note of. The HC said that one of the taxi drivers 'did not give any special reason' for remembering the face of the accused even after about 100 days since 'there is hardly any chance for any taxi driver to have long interaction and to have sufficient and ample opportunity to notice and observe the passengers and their faces, unless there is some special reason.' The court went on to point out how in Mumbai, passengers and taxi drivers have minimal interaction and that 'there is no opportunity or practice of bargaining, as the fare is calculated strictly in accordance with the fare meter installed in the taxi'. The court notes that taxi driver Santosh Kedar Singh had during his cross-examination admitted that it was difficult to 'remember a passenger after a week and it becomes more difficult after a month.'
The Star
22-07-2025
- The Star
Indian court acquits all 12 convicted in 2006 Mumbai train blasts
NEW DELHI: The Bombay High Court on Monday (July 21) acquitted the 12 individuals convicted previously, including five who are currently on death row, in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts case, officials said, reported Xinhua. The high court held that the prosecution had failed to establish its case against all the accused and set aside the Sept 30, 2015, judgment of the special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act court, after concluding a lack of evidence to uphold the guilty verdict. "The prosecution has utterly failed to prove the case against the accused. It is hard to believe that the accused committed the crime. Hence, their conviction is quashed and set aside," the Bombay High Court said. Questioning the trustworthiness of certain prosecution witnesses and the Test Identification Parade of some of the accused, the court ordered the release of the convicts, if they are not required to be detained in any other case. The court also said that the explosives, arms and maps recovered during the investigation appeared to be unrelated to the blasts. The prosecution, it said, could not even prove what kind of bombs were used in the blasts. On July 11, 2006, seven bombs exploded within 10 minutes during the evening rush hour on trains in Mumbai, the financial and entertainment capital of India, which left 189 people dead and over 800 others wounded. The bombs exploded near the stations of Matunga Road, Mahim Junction, Bandra, Khar Road, Jogeshwari, Bhayandar and Borivali. - Bernama-Xinhuambai train blast, Bombay High Court, acquits all
Hans India
22-07-2025
- Hans India
HC acquits all 12 accused
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Monday set aside a special court verdict that awarded the death sentence to five convicts in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts and refused the Maharashtra government's plea seeking confirmation of their sentences. The High Court acquitted all 12 accused in the case, including those sentenced to life imprisonment. The special bench of Justices Anil S Kilor and Shyam C Chandak questioned the trustworthiness of certain prosecution witnesses and the Test Identification Parade (TIP) of some of the accused. The bench ordered their release, if they are not required to be detained in any other case, and directed all of them to execute personal bonds of Rs 25,000 each. Finding substance in the case of defence lawyers, the bench observed that the prosecution 'utterly failed to establish the offences beyond a reasonable doubt against the accused on each count.' The bench led by Justice Kilor held, 'It is unsafe to reach the satisfaction that the appellant accused have committed the offence for which they have been convicted and sentenced. Therefore, the accused judgment and order of conviction and sentence are liable to be quashed and set aside' There were 13 accused, of whom one was acquitted by the special court under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA). Of the 12, five were sentenced to death, one of whom died in prison during the pandemic, and seven were awarded a life term. The special bench passed the judgement over five months after it concluded the hearing on January 31. The Bombay High Court had conducted hearings over the span of six months from July last year. A series of bombs exploded on seven western suburban coaches, killing 189 commuters and injuring 824 on July 11, 2006. After an over eight-year trial, the special court under the MCOCA awarded the death penalty to five of the convicts, and life terms to seven others in September 2015.
