IBEX NEWS,shimla.
The High Court of Himachal Pradesh, has set aside a judgment of conviction and sentence, passed by the Sessions Judge, Solan, for offence under Section 302 of IPC, whereby accused Asha Devi was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder of one Sushil Kumar, the then A.G.M. B.S.N.L., Solan.
A Division Bench, comprising Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan and Justice Ranjan Sharma, passed this order on an appeal filed by the Smt. Asha Devi.
The case of the prosecution is that the deceased had gone to a Resort at Solan, on 30.06.2012, in the evening and did not return to home. On 01.07.2012, the deceased was found lying dead in his vehicle and there were many wounds over his body and huge blood stains thereupon. An FIR was registered in the police Station Sadar, Solan.
It had come in the investigation that the deceased could be seen in CCTV footage, entering the Resort with his friend and thereafter consumed liquor. At about 1:53 A.M. deceased is seen parking his vehicle in the Resort parking and thereafter coming out from vehicle with accused Asha Devi (Appellant).
Onn the basis of suspicion the accused was arrested on 03.07.2012 and in the investigation it transpired that the appellant was engaged in the BSNL on contract basis by the deceased in the year 2008 and the contract was terminated in the year, 2012. Thereafter, the deceased had got her re-employed in an Agency owned by his friend. It was further revealed that the appellant was involved in a physical relation with the deceased. As per prosecution, on that day deceased parked his vehicle near his office and wanted to have sexual intercourse with the appellant but due to the menstruation period, she refused and then the deceased wanted to have unnatural sex with the appellant. To resist the act of the deceased, the appellant took up the knife from the back seat of the vehicle (which deceased used to keep in his vehicle) and gave many blows on the private parts, stomach, chest and arms of the deceased resulting his death. After killing the deceased, she threw the knife in a vehicle of un-known number. It is further the case of the prosecution that the accused stabbed the deceased to death as the deceased used to sexually assault her and compel her to indulge in unnatural sex and prepare MMS thereof.
On the basis of circumstantial evidence, the Trial Court convicted the accused to life imprisonment u/s 302 of IPC,. Aggrieved by the sentence, the appellant preferred an appeal before the High Court.
Hearing the counsels for the parties at a length, the Court found that the prosecution has miserably failed to connect the linkages in the chain of circumstantial evidence. It is firstly relied upon inadmissible evidence and then on account of its overzealousness has tried to effect the alleged recoveries that too without associating independent witnesses. The Court observed that entire investigation is shrouded with suspicion and cannot, therefore, be relied upon. The prosecution has even failed to establish the motive and the entire case hinges around grave suspicion. The Court held that suspicion, however, so strong, cannot be allowed to take place of legal proof.In this background, the judgment of conviction and sentence, passed by the Trial Court, cannot sustain and the same has been set aside. The appellant has been ordered to be released immediately.