After nearly 26 years, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has acquitted a man who was accused of murdering the husband of a woman he was allegedly in a relationship with. The case, which dates back to 1999, involved allegations that the accused had assaulted the woman's husband and pushed him onto a live railway track.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Gurvinder Singh Gill and Justice Jasjit Singh Bedi raised serious concerns regarding the reliability of a police constable's testimony. The constable claimed that the victim, even after losing both legs and a large amount of blood, had identified the accused by name.
"There is a doubt as to how and in what circumstances was the deceased able to narrate his name, etc. to the police party, particularly, in the circumstances when both his legs had been amputated and he must have lost a considerable amount of blood. This creates a doubt in the prosecution version," the bench observed.
Justice Bedi, speaking for the bench, also questioned the motive behind the alleged murder. He pointed out that the accused was already living with the deceased's wife, and there was no evidence suggesting that the deceased was creating any trouble in their relationship.
"It is not a case wherein there is any evidence of the deceased being a hindrance to the affair between his wife and the accused," the Court noted.
The accused had filed an appeal in 2004 against the conviction, which was finally allowed by the Court.
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The prosecution’s main witness was one Tarlok Chand, who claimed to have seen the deceased with the accused before the incident. However, the Court noted that he revealed this information to the police seven months later, casting serious doubt on his credibility.
"It is indeed strange that despite the fact that the real brother of his brother-in-law was missing, he made absolutely no attempt to inform his family members or the police that he had seen the deceased in the company of the accused," said the Court.
Even assuming that Tarlok Chand was telling the truth, the Court noted a significant time gap—about 6 to 8 hours—between when the accused was allegedly seen with the deceased and when the body was found.
"By no stretch of imagination can it be held that in 6 to 8 hours, there could have been no other intervening person who could have committed the offence, if at all," the Court added.
Ultimately, the Court found the evidence to be purely circumstantial and ruled that the prosecution had failed to establish a complete chain of events linking the accused to the crime. As a result, the conviction was reversed, and the man was acquitted.
Mr. Aarav Gupta, Advocate as Amicus Curiae for the appellant.
Mr. Siddharth Attri, Addl.A.G., Punjab.
Title: Som Nath v. State of Punjab
