Gujarat High Court
State Of Gujarat vs Chimanbhai Thakorbhai Chauhan on 7 September, 2022
Author: Rajendra M. Sareen
Bench: S.H.Vora, Rajendra M. Sareen
R/CR.A/474/1996 JUDGMENT DATED: 07/09/2022
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 474 of 1996
FOR APPROVAL AND SIGNATURE:
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE S.H.VORA
and
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE RAJENDRA M. SAREEN
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1 Whether Reporters of Local Papers may be allowed
to see the judgment ?
2 To be referred to the Reporter or not ?
3 Whether their Lordships wish to see the fair copy
of the judgment ?
4 Whether this case involves a substantial question
of law as to the interpretation of the Constitution
of India or any order made thereunder ?
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STATE OF GUJARAT
Versus
CHIMANBHAI THAKORBHAI CHAUHAN & 2 other(s)
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Appearance:
MS CM SHAH APP for the Appellant(s) No. 1
ABATED for the Opponent(s)/Respondent(s) No. 1,2
MR ARJUNSINGH B CHAUHAN(11510) for the Opponent(s)/Respondent(s)
No. 3
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE S.H.VORA
and
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE RAJENDRA M. SAREEN
Date : 07/09/2022
ORAL JUDGMENT
(PER : HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE RAJENDRA M. SAREEN) Page 1 of 23 Downloaded on : Wed Sep 07 21:31:24 IST 2022 R/CR.A/474/1996 JUDGMENT DATED: 07/09/2022
1. Present Criminal Appeal has been preferred by the appellant - State of Gujarat under Section 378 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 against the judgment and order dated 16/09/1999 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Surat in Sessions Case No.49 of 1992 acquitting the respondent Nos.1 to 3 - original accused Nos.1 to 3 from the offence punishable under sections 498A, 306, 304B and 114 of Indian Penal Code.
2. Facts of the case, in brief, are as under:-
The marriage of the deceased was solemnized with the respondent No.2 on 15/02/1990 as per the customs and in accordance with the wish and will of the family members and after the marriage, the deceased started residing at her matrimonial home. The deceased was having good married life till her death. As per the case of the prosecution, the respondents were physically and mentally harassing the deceased and were demanding dowry of Rs.50,000/- for purchasing new house where the deceased and her husband - respondent No.2 can reside separately and due to the physical and mental harassment and demand of dowry, the deceased committed suicide on 23/01/1992. As such, the complaint was filed by the father of the deceased against the respondents for the offence under sections 306, 498A and 114 of Indian Penal Code and thereafter, offence under section 304 was added.Page 2 of 23 Downloaded on : Wed Sep 07 21:31:24 IST 2022
R/CR.A/474/1996 JUDGMENT DATED: 07/09/2022
3. On the basis of the said complaint, investigation was started, statement of witnesses were recorded, inquest panchnama was carried out, panchnama of scene of offence was carried out, postmortem report was obtained and after through investigation, as there was sufficient evidence against the respondents - accused persons, Chargesheet was filed before the learned Judicial Magistrate, First Class. As the offence committed by the accused persons was exclusively triable by the Court of Sessions as per the provisions of Section 209 of Criminal Procedure Code, the learned Judge was pleased to commit the case to the Court of Sessions and the case was transferred and placed for trial in the court of learned Additional Sessions Judge, which has been numbered as Sessions Case No.49 of 1992. Thereafter, Charge was framed against the accused for the offence punishable under sections 306, 498A, 304 and 114 of Indian Penal Code. The accused persons pleaded not guilty to the Charges and claimed to be tried. The prosecution, therefore, laid evidence, oral as well as documentary. After the evidence was over, Further Statement of the respondents - accused were recorded under section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and arguments were heard. At the conclusion of the trial, the learned Additional Sessions Judge was pleased to acquit the accused Nos.1 to 3 for the charges levelled against them. Hence, the appellant - State of Gujarat has preferred the Page 3 of 23 Downloaded on : Wed Sep 07 21:31:24 IST 2022 R/CR.A/474/1996 JUDGMENT DATED: 07/09/2022 the present Criminal Appeal challenging the judgement and order of acquittal.
It is pertinent to note that the respondent Nos.1 and 2
- original accused Nos.1 and 2 have expired during the pendency of the present appeal and hence present appeal stood abated qua respondent Nos.1 and 2 and the present appeal is required to be considered qua respondent No.3 - original accused No.3 only.
4. Heard Ms.C.M. Shah, learned APP for the State and Mr.Arjunsingh B. Chauhan, learned advocate for the respondent No.3.
5. Ms.C.M. Shah, learned APP for the appellant State has vehemently argued that the Sessions Judge has wrongly acquitted the accused of the offences for which they were charged and the acquittal order is against the law and evidence on record. There is no proper appreciation of evidence done by the trial court. The witness mainly parents of the deceased have supported the case of the prosecution. Demand of Rs.50,000/- by the respondents has been duly proved from the evidence of the witness No.2 Hansaben, who is mother of the deceased, to whom the fact of demand was told by the deceased. It is also submitted that the medical evidence, which has also supported the case of the prosecution, is also not considered by the trial court. It is Page 4 of 23 Downloaded on : Wed Sep 07 21:31:24 IST 2022 R/CR.A/474/1996 JUDGMENT DATED: 07/09/2022 the case wherein dowry demand was constantly made by the respondents accused and due to this demand of dowry, and physical and mental harassment, the deceased has committed suicide. As such, the trial court has erred in not appreciating the evidence on record in its true spirit and has given wrongly acquittal to the respondents accused which cannot sustain at the scrutiny of this Court.
She has further argued that the Sessions Judge has committed a grave error in not believing the deposition of the witnesses examined by the prosecution and evidence adduced by the prosecution. It is further submitted that the Sessions Judge has erred in acquitting the respondent No.3 from the charges levelled against her. It is further argued that the prosecution has proved that the respondent No.3 has committed offence under sections 306, 498A, 304 and 114 of Indian Penal Code. It is further submitted that Sessions Judge has acquitted the respondent No.3 merely on some minor contradictions and omissions in the evidence of the prosecution witnesses. It is further argued that the Sessions Judge has erred in not believing the evidence of the investigating officer and complainant who had no reason to implicate the respondent No.3 falsely in the case. It is further argued that the offence punishable under sections 306, 498A, 304 114 of Indian Penal Code, is made out, however, the same is not believed by the Sessions Judge. It is further argued that though the prosecution witnesses have supported the case of the prosecution, the Page 5 of 23 Downloaded on : Wed Sep 07 21:31:24 IST 2022 R/CR.A/474/1996 JUDGMENT DATED: 07/09/2022 Sessions Judge erroneously not believed their evidence and acquitted the respondent No.3 - original accused No.3. It is further argued that the Sessions Court has erroneously held that the prosecution has failed to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt and has requested to allow the present appeal.
6. Mr.Arjunsingh B. Chauhan, learned advocate for the respondents has submitted that the accused Nos.1 and 2 have expired and present appeal survives qua respondent No.3 - original accused No.3. He has submitted that after the marriage, the deceased was living at her matrimonial home happily and thereafter the deceased and the respondent No.2 husband were residing separately. The respondent Nos.1 and 3 - parents of the husband were living on the ground floor, whereas the deceased and her husband - respondent No.2 were living on the upper floor. The deceased had a good marriage life till her death. As per the evidence on record, she had never gone to her parental home for long time and she was happy at her matrimonial home. The deceased has a child out of the wedlock. It is also further submitted that the respondent No.1 was informed about the incident by one of his relative at his shop and he immediately informed the parents of the deceased and thereafter, the deceased was immediately taken to the Doctor. From the entire evidence on record, no iota of evidence has come on record to show that there was any Page 6 of 23 Downloaded on : Wed Sep 07 21:31:24 IST 2022 R/CR.A/474/1996 JUDGMENT DATED: 07/09/2022 cruelty towards the deceased. During the marriage life of the deceased, no complaint was filed by the parents or the deceased against the accused regarding physical and mental harassment by the inlaws. It is also submitted that as per the evidence on record, demand of dowry is not proved by the prosecution except a request for an amount of Rs.50,000/- and if the said request is believed, the same was made for purchasing house for residing the deceased and her husband - respondent No.2 separately. There are no independent eye witness to support the case of the prosecution. The evidence of the witness who has been examined in this case by the prosecution has also not supported the case of the prosecution by stating that there was any cruelty towards the deceased by the respondents. As such, the entire evidence on record does not prove the ingredients of demand of dowry or physical and mental torture by the respondents towards the deceased. It is also further submitted that no doubt the death of the deceased is unnatural death but no specific role is attributed to the respondent No.3. It has not come on record that she had instigated the deceased to commit suicide by any of the act of cruelty, physically or mentally or demand of dowry.
6.1. There are contradictions in the depositions of the main two witnesses i.e. parents of the deceased, and hence the same cannot be believed. The ingredients of Section 304B or 498A or even section 306, where it can be presumed that Page 7 of 23 Downloaded on : Wed Sep 07 21:31:24 IST 2022 R/CR.A/474/1996 JUDGMENT DATED: 07/09/2022 there was instigation or abetment by the respondents to the deceased for committing suicide, is also not proved. As such, the trial court has rightly appreciated the entire evidence which has been brought on record. Considering the entire judgement, no infirmity or illegality has been committed by the learned Sessions Court.
6.2. He has further submitted that there is hardly any substance in the submissions of learned APP. There is no admissible evidence on record connecting the respondent No.3 with the commission of the offence. There are material contradictions and omissions in the evidence of the prosecution witnesses. The prosecution has not proved the case beyond reasonable doubt. No error or illegality has been committed by the trial court in acquitting the original respondent No.3. He has requested to dismiss the present appeal.
7. Heard the leaned advocates for the respective parties at length and perused the impugned judgement and order of acquittal passed by the trial court as well as the entire record and proceedings.
8. It would be worthwhile to refer to the scope in Acquittal Appeals. It is well settled by is catena of decisions that an appellate Court has full Power to review, re- appreciate and consider the Evidence upon which the Order Page 8 of 23 Downloaded on : Wed Sep 07 21:31:24 IST 2022 R/CR.A/474/1996 JUDGMENT DATED: 07/09/2022 of Acquittal is founded. However, the Appellate Court must bear in mind that in case of Acquittal, there is prejudice in favour of the Accused, firstly, the presumption of innocence is available to him under the Fundamental Principle of Criminal Jurisprudence that every person shall be presumed to be innocent unless he is proved guilty by a competent Court of Law. Secondly, the Accused having secured his Acquittal, the presumption of his innocence is further reaffirmed and strengthened by the trial Court.
9. We have gone through the entire record and proceedings. We have re-appreciated the evidence on record. On re-appreciation of the evidence, it appears that the prosecution in this case has examined 8 witnesses and 4 documentary evidences are produced on record. As the allegation of offence under section 304B i.e. dowry death are not made out, the only aspect is regarding asking for Rs.50,000/-. The said request was made by the respondent No.2, now deceased, for purchasing new house where the deceased and the respondent No.2 can reside separately. As per the provisions of law dowry means any property or valuable security given or agreed to be given either directly or indirectly,
a) by one party to a marriage to the other party to the marriage or,
b) by the parents of either party to a marriage or by any other person to either party to the marriage or to any other Page 9 of 23 Downloaded on : Wed Sep 07 21:31:24 IST 2022 R/CR.A/474/1996 JUDGMENT DATED: 07/09/2022 person at or before any time after marriage in connection with the marriage of said purpose but does not include Dower or Mahr in the case of persons to whom the Muslim Personal Law applies.
10. Considering the definition dowry, in this case, it is not the case of the prosecution that at the time of marriage there was any demand of any property or valuable security. The case which is brought on record by the prosecution is demand after the marriage. It has also come on record that at the time of marriage 6 tolas of gold and one cup-board was given to the deceased by her parents, which is undisputed fact and the only aspect which is in controversy is regarding request of Rs.50,000/- made by the respondent to purchase house for residing the deceased and the respondent No.2 separately but that request was after 1.1/2 years of the marriage and it is not the case of the prosecution that the said demand was made at the time of marriage. So considering this aspect and considering the definition of dowry, it cannot be said to be a demand of dowry. The request of Rs.50,000/- if believed for the sake of arguments, can not be termed as demand of dowry under the provisions of the Dowry Prohibition Act and for that reason though the death of the deceased is within 7 years of her marriage, it cannot be said that due to the demand of dowry persistently by the respondents, the deceased has committed suicide due to demand of dowry. If for the sake of Page 10 of 23 Downloaded on : Wed Sep 07 21:31:24 IST 2022 R/CR.A/474/1996 JUDGMENT DATED: 07/09/2022 arguments, the request of Rs.50,000/- for purchasing new house for the deceased and the respondent No.2 is believed to have been made, by the respondent No.2, who is now not surviving, after 1.1/2 years, it cannot be termed, as stated above, as dowry and so offence under section 304B of the Indian Penal Code cannot be said to be proved.
11. It is also pertinent to note that the respondent Nos.1 and 3 i.e. father and mother of the respondent No.2 were residing on the ground floor, whereas the deceased and respondent No.2 were residing separately on the first floor. Thus, the deceased was residing separately with her husband respondent No.2 separately and the alleged request of Rs.50,000/- was also made for purchasing new house for residing the deceased and the respondent No.2. The said request was made by the respondent No.2 who is now no more.
12. So far offence under section 306 of Indian Penal Code is concerned, it was the case of the parents of the deceased that the deceased was subjected to physical and mental torture by the respondents which was persistent in nature to the extent that due to the demand of dowry, the deceased was compelled to commit suicide. However, during the life time of the deceased, no complaint was ever filed by the deceased herself or the parents of the deceased regarding any torture whatsoever.
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13. Considering the evidence on record, on the day of incident i.e. 23/01/1992 information of the incident was given to the father of the deceased by the respondent No.1 and therefore, the complainant, his wife and his son rushed immediately to the matrimonial house of the deceased and saw dead-body of the deceased. It is also pertinent to note that from the evidence on record it is clear that when the complainant and his wife reached the house of the respondents, police was already there, and if at that time, the parents of the deceased were having knowledge that the deceased was subjected to physical and mental torture by her inlaws and were demanding dowry of Rs.50,000/- from the deceased, they would have immediately made complaint before the police. For the sake of arguments, if it is believed that the mental status of the complainant and his family was not sound at that stage after seeing the dead-body of the daughter, but next day and thereafter also they have not uttered a word about cruelty or demand of dowry against the respondents before anybody or even before the police authority and for the first time FIR has been lodged on 26/01/1992 i.e. after a period of 3 days. As such, the conduct of the complainant and his family members of filing complaint after 3 days though they were knowing the entire alleged history of cruelty and demand of dowry, which creates doubt regarding veracity of the complaint. As such the evidence of the complainant and his wife do not inspire Page 12 of 23 Downloaded on : Wed Sep 07 21:31:24 IST 2022 R/CR.A/474/1996 JUDGMENT DATED: 07/09/2022 confidence.
14. On the other hand, the conduct of the respondents is required to be considered. The respondent declared the incident before the police immediately on 23/01/1992 and also informed the incident to the father of the deceased as soon as he got information at his shop and when the father of the deceased along with his wife reached the place of incident, they saw crowd near the Doctor clinic where the deceased was taken for treatment, which shows that the family of the deceased were kin for the treatment of the deceased immediately. As such the conduct of the respondents of immediately informing the police regarding the entire chronological events taken place and by taking the deceased to the nearby clinic point out towards their innocence.
15. Looking to the evidence of the mother of the deceased, she has submitted that on the date of incident on 23/01/1992 the respondent No.3 had visited her house and informed that the deceased will be coming to her parents house for 10 to 12 days and thereafter respondent No.3 left. Now on this aspect, the conduct of the witness Hansaben is doubtful, because, in her cross-examination she has admitted that on 23/01/1992 son was born to her elder son Shashikant's house and it is natural conduct that after getting information of arrival of new baby in the family of Page 13 of 23 Downloaded on : Wed Sep 07 21:31:24 IST 2022 R/CR.A/474/1996 JUDGMENT DATED: 07/09/2022 the inlaws, mother will surely visit the inlaws of his son and that is why the respondent No.3 had gone to the house of the parents of the deceased, which aspect is omitted by the witness. However, though the respondent No.3 had visited the house of the deceased's mother and met her on the day of incident, this aspect also does not point out towards respondent No.3 in proving allegation levelled against respondent No.3.
16. So far as physical and mental harassment to the deceased is concerned, the complainant in his evidence has admitted that his daughter deceased Reena has not stayed for more than 2 to 5 days in his house from the date of her marriage and deceased Reena had never come quarreling with her inlaws or due to some issue with her inlaws. Had there been any physical and mental torture to the deceased Reena, she would have surely visited her parental house which is in the same city and must have complained about her inlaws to her parents, which is not the case and no evidence to that effect has come on record.
17. Contradictory evidence has come on record regarding evidence of the complainant and his wife. As per the evidence of witness Hansaben - wife of the complainant, once when Reena was in her parental house, she had sustained bleeding injury on her back. This fact is stated by her in her cross-examination for the first time. Even this Page 14 of 23 Downloaded on : Wed Sep 07 21:31:24 IST 2022 R/CR.A/474/1996 JUDGMENT DATED: 07/09/2022 fact is not supported by any medical evidence, as deceased Reena stayed for the whole day, she had never gone to the Doctor or she had not taken any treatment from the doctor. This aspect of injury on the back of the deceased, as stated by the complainant, is also not proved.
18. It is pertinent to note that the deceased's matrimonial house and parental house are in the same city. If the deceased was subjected to physical and mental torture by her inlaws for demand of dowry of Rs.50,000/- and even she visited her parental house for 4 to 5 times, she has never narrated about the torture and demand of dowry to her parents. For the sake of arguments, if it believed that the deceased had narrated before the parents, the parents, neither the complainant nor his wife has made any complaint before any authority, police or anywhere else.
19. In the evidence which is brought on record by the prosecution, witness Hansaben tried to bring on record that demand was made by the respondent No.2, the respondents were taunting her daughter and not sending her daughter to her parental house. No evidence to that effect has come on record and all these allegations are not proved. As it has come on record in the cross-examination of witness Hansaben that deceased Reena used to come to her parental house from morning to evening and sometime respondent No.2 used to come in the evening to pick-up Page 15 of 23 Downloaded on : Wed Sep 07 21:31:24 IST 2022 R/CR.A/474/1996 JUDGMENT DATED: 07/09/2022 Reena from her parental house. Had there been any taunting, harassment or demand of dowry, the deceased Reena would have disclosed to her parents. In the evidence of the PW No.1 Hansaben even no specific words have been brought on record as to what were the word of taunting used by the inlaws of the deceased.
20. Considering the entire evidence on record oral as well as documentary, we are of the opinion that the prosecution has failed to prove the case against the accused by leading cogent and convincing evidence. The judgement delivered by the Sessions Judge is sound on the aspect of law and facts. The evidence brought on record by the prosecution before the trial court has been rightly appreciated by the trial court. No apparent error on the face of the record is found from the judgement. The judgement does not suffer any material defect or cannot be said to be contrary to the evidence recorded.
21. It may be noted that as per the settled legal position, when two views are possible, the judgment and order of acquittal passed by the trial Court should not be interfered with by the Appellate Court unless for the special reasons. A beneficial reference of the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of State of Rajasthan versus Ram Niwas reported in (2010) 15 SCC 463 be made in this regard. In the said case, it has been observed as under:-
Page 16 of 23 Downloaded on : Wed Sep 07 21:31:24 IST 2022R/CR.A/474/1996 JUDGMENT DATED: 07/09/2022 "6. This Court has held in Kalyan v. State of U.P., (2001) 9 SCC 632 :
"8. The settled position of law on the powers to be exercised by the High Court in an appeal against an order of acquittal is that though the High Court has full powers to review the evidence upon which an order of acquittal is passed, it is equally well settled that the presumption of innocence of the accused persons, as envisaged under the criminal jurisprudence prevalent in our country is further reinforced by his acquittal by the trial court. Normally the views of the trial court, as to the credibility of the witnesses, must be given proper weight and consideration because the trial court is supposed to have watched the demeanour and conduct of the witness and is in a better position to appreciate their testimony. The High Court should be slow in disturbing a finding of fact arrived at by the trial court. In Kali Ram V. State of Himachal Pradesh, (1973) 2 SCC 808, this Court observed that the golden thread which runs through the web of administration of justice in criminal case is that if two views are possible on the evidence adduced in the case, one pointing to the guilt of the accused and the other to his innocence, the view which is Page 17 of 23 Downloaded on : Wed Sep 07 21:31:24 IST 2022 R/CR.A/474/1996 JUDGMENT DATED: 07/09/2022 favourable to the accused should be adopted. The Court further observed:
"27. It is no doubt true that wrongful acquittals are undesirable and shake the confidence of the people in the judicial system, much worse, however, is the wrongful conviction of an innocent person. The consequences of the conviction of an innocent person are far more serious and its reverberations cannot but be felt in a civilised society. Suppose an innocent person is convicted of the offence of murder and is hanged, nothing further can undo the mischief for the wrong resulting from the unmerited conviction is irretrievable. To take another instance, if an innocent person is sent to jail and undergoes the sentence, the scars left by the miscarriage of justice cannot be erased by any subsequent act of expiration. Not many persons undergoing the pangs of wrongful conviction are fortunate like Dreyfus to have an Emile Zola to champion their cause and succeed in getting the verdict of guilt annulled. All this highlights the importance of ensuring, as far as possible, that there should be no wrongful conviction of an innocent person. Some risk of the conviction of the innocent, of course, is always there in any system of the Page 18 of 23 Downloaded on : Wed Sep 07 21:31:24 IST 2022 R/CR.A/474/1996 JUDGMENT DATED: 07/09/2022 administration of criminal justice Such a risk can be minimised but not ruled out altogether It may in this connection be apposite to refer to the following observations of Sir Carleton Alien quoted on page 157 of "The Proof of Guilt" by Glanville Williams, second edition:
"I dare say some sentimentalists would assent to the proposition that it is better that a thousand, or even a million, guilty persons should escape than that one innocent person should suffer; but no responsible and practical person would accept such a view. For it is obvious that if our ratio is extended indefinitely, there comes a point when the whole system of justice has broken down and society is in a state of chaos."
28. The fact that there has to be clear evidence of the guilt of the accused and that in the absence of that it is not possible to record a finding of his guilt was stressed by this Court in the case of Shivaji Sahebrao, (1973) 2 SCC 793, as is clear from the following observations:
"Certainly it is a primary principle that the accused must be and not merely, may be guilty before a court, can be convicted and the mental distinction Page 19 of 23 Downloaded on : Wed Sep 07 21:31:24 IST 2022 R/CR.A/474/1996 JUDGMENT DATED: 07/09/2022 between 'may be' and 'must be' is long and divides vague conjectures from sure considerations."
"9. The High Court while dealing with the appeals against the order of acquittal must keep in mind the following propositions laid down by this Court, namely, (i) the slowness of the appellate court to disturb a finding of fact; (ii) the noninterference with the order of acquittal where it is indeed only a case of taking a view different from the one taken by the High Court."
8. In Arulvelu and another versus State reported in (2009) 10 Supreme Court Cases 206, the Supreme Court after discussing the earlier judgments, observed in para No. 36 as under:
"36. Careful scrutiny of all these judgments lead to the definite conclusion that the appellate court should be very slow in setting aside a judgment of acquittal particularly in a case where two views are possible. The trial court judgment can not be set aside because the appellate court's view is more probable. The appellate court would not be justified in setting aside the trial court judgment unless it arrives at a clear finding on marshaling the entire evidence on record that the judgment of Page 20 of 23 Downloaded on : Wed Sep 07 21:31:24 IST 2022 R/CR.A/474/1996 JUDGMENT DATED: 07/09/2022 the trial court is either perverse or wholly unsustainable in law."
22. As observed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Rajesh Singh & Others vs. State of Uttar Pradesh reported in (2011) 11 SCC 444 and in the case of Bhaiyamiyan Alias Jardar Khan and Another vs. State of Madhya Pradesh reported in (2011) 6 SCC 394, while dealing with the judgment of acquittal, unless reasoning by the learned trial Court is found to be perverse, the acquittal cannot be upset. It is further observed that High Court's interference in such appeal in somewhat circumscribed and if the view taken by the learned trial Court is possible on the evidence, the High Court should stay its hands and not interfere in the matter in the belief that if it had been the trial Court, it might have taken a different view.
Scope of appeal against acquittal is well laid down in case of Chandrappa and ors. vs. State of Karnataka reported in (2007) 4 SCC 415, it was observed:
"42. From the above decisions, in our considered view, the following general principles regarding powers of appellate Court while dealing with an appeal against an order of acquittal emerge;
(1) An appellate Court has full power to review, reappreciate and reconsider the evidence upon which the order of acquittal is Page 21 of 23 Downloaded on : Wed Sep 07 21:31:24 IST 2022 R/CR.A/474/1996 JUDGMENT DATED: 07/09/2022 founded;
(2) The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 puts no limitation, restriction or condition on exercise of such power and an appellate Court on the evidence before it may reach its own conclusion, both on questions of fact and of law;
(3) Various expressions, such as, 'substantial and compelling reasons', 'good and sufficient grounds', 'very strong circumstances', 'distorted conclusions', 'glaring mistakes', etc. are not intended to curtail extensive powers of an appellate Court in an appeal against acquittal. Such phraseologies are more in the nature of 'flourishes of language' to emphasize the reluctance of an appellate Court to interfere with acquittal than to curtail the power of the Court to review the evidence and to come to its own conclusion.
(4) An appellate Court, however, must bear in mind that in case of acquittal, there is double presumption in favour of the accused. Firstly, the presumption of innocence available to him under the fundamental principle of criminal jurisprudence that every person shall be presumed to be innocent unless he is proved guilty by a competent court of law. Secondly, the accused having secured his acquittal, the presumption of his innocence is further reinforced, reaffirmed and strengthened by the trial court.
(5) If two reasonable conclusions are possible on the basis of the evidence on record, the appellate court should not disturb the finding of acquittal recorded by the trial court."Page 22 of 23 Downloaded on : Wed Sep 07 21:31:24 IST 2022
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23. Considering the aforesaid facts and circumstances of the case and law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court while considering the scope of appeal under Section 378 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, no case is made out to interfere with the impugned judgment and order of acquittal.
24. In view of the above and for the reasons stated above, present Criminal Appeal deserve to be dismissed and is accordingly dismissed qua respondent No.3.
(S.H.VORA, J) (RAJENDRA M. SAREEN,J) R.H. PARMAR Page 23 of 23 Downloaded on : Wed Sep 07 21:31:24 IST 2022