Allahabad High Court
State Of U.P. vs Sompal on 6 January, 2020
Equivalent citations: AIRONLINE 2020 ALL 127
Bench: Vipin Sinha, Manish Kumar
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD Court No. - 51 Case :- GOVERNMENT APPEAL DEFECTIVE No. - 88 of 2018 Appellant :- State of U.P. Respondent :- Sompal Counsel for Appellant :- G.A. Counsel for Respondent :- Shyam Murari Upadhyay Hon'ble Vipin Sinha,J.
Hon'ble Manish Kumar,J.
Heard learned counsel for the parties on the delay condonation application.
There is a delay of thirty days in filing the present appeal.
Cause shown is sufficient.
The application of condonation of delay is hereby allowed and the delay is condoned.
Office is directed to allot regular number.
Heard learned AGA on the application seeking leave to appeal against the judgment and order dated 22.08.2017 in Criminal Appeal No. 121 of 2015 by means of which all the accused person has been acquitted for the offence punishable under section 409 IPC.
Learned A.G.A. has strongly pressed the application with the contention that the prosecution evidence has not been appreciated by the court concerned in its correct perspective. He has submitted that the finding of acquittal recorded by learned trial judge is against the evidence on record. He next submitted that the learned trial judge has committed a patent error of law and ignored the material evidence on record while holding that the prosecution had failed to prove the charge against the accused respondents beyond the reasonable doubt.
We have perused the impugned judgment, perusal of which shows that the concerned court has recorded categorical findings after perusing the entire evidence on record.
The Court while acquitting the accused respondent has given categorical findings, some of which are to the following effect;
"vfHk;kstu dk ;g Lohdk;Z rF; gS fd mDr vfHkys[k ewy :i esa cSad ds ikl miyC/k ugh gSA foospd ds nkSjku izfr ijh{kk ;g ckr Hkh Lohdkj dh gS fd oknh ds c;ku ysrs le; dksbZ nLrkost oknh us ugh fn;k FkkA oknh dk c;ku ysus okys fnu cSad dk dksbZ jftLVj dCts esa ugh fy;k Fkk rFkk foospuk esa layXu nLrkostks dh flQ Nk;k izfr yh FkhA foospd us vly dkxt vius dCts esa ugh fy;s vkSj cSad ls foospuk esa laYkXu fd;s x;s QksVks LVsV dkxtkrksa dks ysrs le; cSad us ;g ugh crk;k Fkk fd vly dkxt xk;c gks x;s gsA bl izdkj ekeys ds rF;ksa ,oa ifjfLFkfr;ksa esa cSad dh dS'k ehek] dS'k cqd] dSl fjtZo cqd dks U;k;ky; ds le{k ewy :i esa izLrqr u fd;k tkuk lkFk gh lkFk cSad }kjk ewy nLrkostks ds xk;c gksus dh izkFkfedh vafdr djuk vfHk;kstu dFkkud dks ,d lUnsg iznku djrk gSA vfHk;qDr lkseiky ds fo:) fy[kr izn'kZ&10 dh bckjr dks Hkh xcu dk vk/kkj cuk;k x;k gSA Ikzn'kZ&10 dHkh Hkh ewy :i esa foospd ds le{k ugh vk;h gS vkSj u gh nkSjku foospuk U;k;ky; ds le{k izLrqr fd;k x;k gSA mDr nLrkost izn'kZ&10 ds lEcU/k esa vius dFku /kkjk 313 n0iz0l0 esa vfHk;qDr lkseiky }kjk Li"Vhdj.k izLrqr fd;k x;k gS fd & * >wB gSA eSus fdlh fj'rsnkj dks :i;s ugh fn;sA rgjhj eSustj lkgc us ncko esa fy[kk;h Fkh fd cSysl Vsyh gksus ij bls u"V dj nsxsA bl izdkj dh rgjhj esjs vykok gSM dSf'k;j vkj0,l0lju o ih0,l0 [kqYyj ls Hkh fy[kk;h Fkh **A vfHk;qDr lkseiky }kjk mijksDr Li"Vhdj.k ds pyrs Lo;a dks crkSj izfr ijh{kk lk{kh Mh0MCyw0&1 ds :i esa ijhf{kr djk;k gSA vfHk;qDr lkseiky }kjk vius dFku vUrxZr /kkjk 313 n0iz0l0 esa izn'kZ &10 ds lEcU/k esa fn;s x;s Li"Vhdj.k ds lkis{k vfHk;kstu }kjk dksbZ izfr ijh{kk ugha dh x;h gSA ekeys ds rF;ksa ,oa ifjfLFkfr;ksa esa vfHk;qDr lkseiky }kjk izn'kZ &10 izLrqr fd;k x;k mijksDr Li"Vhdj.k vfHk;kstu ds nLrkost izn'kZ&10 dks vfHk;qDr ds Li"Vhdj.k ds v/khu gh i vfHk;qDr lkseiky crkSj Mh0MCyw0&1 izfr j{kk lk{kh ds :i esa U;k;ky; ds le{k mifLFkr vkdj iz'uxr ?kVuk fnukad 7-2-2005 dh leLr ifjLFkfr;ksa dks LIk"V djrs gq,s viuh eq[; ijh{kk esa l'kiFk fd;s gS vkSj viu l'kiFk dFkuksa esa ;g LIk"V :i ls dgk gS fd cSad dk fglkc rhu fdrkcksa ij fuHkZj gS& 1& dS'k cqdA 2& dS'k eheksA 3& dSl ystj cqdA vfHk;kstu }kjk mDr rhuksa nLrkostks ds ek/;e ls vfHk;qDr ds fo:) iz'uxr ?kVuk esa 2]28]150@& :i;s ds vijk/k nqfoZfu;ksx nf'kZr ugha fd;k tk ldk gSA vfHk;qDr lkseiky us l'kiFk ;g RkF; dgk gS fd ch0,l0,u0,y0 ds foHkkx dh czkap ubZ e.Mh dk dqN iSlk tek gksuk Fkk ch0,l0,u0,y0 ds deZpkjh yxHkx 2&30 cts ij phQ eSustj vfHk;qDr lkseiky ds dSfcu esa vk;s vkSj dgk fd ;g ch0,l0,u0,y0 dk dSl gS vkSj vfHk;qDr lkseiky j[k ys bldk ckÅpj fjyht dj nsA dSl ckn esa fxu ysxs vkSj ds'k es ch0,l0,u0,y0 deZpkjh o phQ eSustj us ipkl gtkj :i;s de fn;s gS tks HkaMk HkwVus ij vxys fnu phQ eSustj ,e0ds0 jLrksxh us Lo;a ns fn;s FksA ml fnu Hkh lkseiky dks Qalkus dh ea'kk Fkh ysfdu bZ'oj us vfHk;qDr dk lkFk fn;k bl dkj.k cp x;sA blh jaft'k ds dkj.k ml fnu dkQh dgk lquh gks x;h FkhA blh ckr ds cnys esa nksckjk fnukad 7&2&2005 dks vfHk;qDRk lkseiky dks Qalk fn;kA mDr ?kVuk Ikz'uxr ?kVuk ls Bhd 15 fnu igys dh gSA vfHk;kstu }kjk izfr ijh{kk djus ij Hkh mDr rF;ksa dk vfHk;kstu }kjk [kf.Mr ugha fd;k tk ldk gSA ,rn vfHk;qDr lkseiky dks izLrqr ekeys esa >wBk Qalk;s tkus dh lEHkkouk ls badkj ugha fd;k tk ldrk gSA And based upon the categorical findings the court below has concluded here in as under;
ekeys ds rF;ksa ,oa ifjfLFkfr;ksa esa foospuk vR;Ur =qfViw.kZ gS ftlesa vfHk;qDr ds fo:) vfHk;kstu dFkkud ds vuqlkj foospd }kjk izekf.kr ,oa Lohdk;Z izys[kh; lk{; nkSjku foospuk ladfyr ugha fd;k x;k vkSj izys[kh; lk{; dks nkSjku fopkj.k Hkh fof/k vuqlkj IkzLrqr dj xzkg~; lk{; ds ek/;e ls lkfcr ugha djk;k x;k gSA ekeys esa vfHk;qDr ds fo:) v/khuLFk U;k;ky; us l`ftr vkjksi es Hkh ?kVuk fnukafdr 18-3-2005 le; nksigj 12&30 cts nf'kZr fd;k gS] tcfd okLro esa ?kVuk fnukad 7-2-2005 le; djhc izkr% 10 cts dh gSA bl izdkj vfHk;qDr nkSjku fopkj.k yxk;s x;s vkjksi ds lEcU/k esa IkwokZxzg ls xzflr gqvk gS vkSj vfHk;qDr leqfpr izfr j{kk dk volj izkIr djus ls oafpr gqvk gSA vr% mDRk rF;ksa ,oa ifjfLFkfr;ksa esa i=koyh ij vfHk;kstu }kjk izLrqr fd;s x;s ekSf[kd ,oa izys[kh; lk{; ds lE;d voyksdu djus ds mijkUr ;g fu"d"kZ fudyrk gS fd vfHk;kstu vfHk;qDr lkseiky ds fo:) yxk;s vkjksi vUrXkZr /kkjk 409 Hkk0n0l0 dks ;qfDr ;qDr lUnsg ls ijs lkfcr djus esa vlQy jgk gSA rn~uqlkj vfHk;qDr lkseiky ds fo:) v/khuLFk U;k;ky; }kjk ikfjr fu.kZ; o n.Mkns'k dks fujLr djrs gq, vihy Lohdkj fd;s tkus ;ksX; gSA ** As regards the exercise of the powers of the appellate court, the Supreme Court in Sanmwat Singh vs. State of Rajasthan reported in 1961 SC 715 has laid down three broad principles:
(I) Appellate Court has full powers to review the evidence upon which the order of acquittal is found it.
(ii) The Principles laid down by the judicial committee of the privy council in Sheo Swaroop vs. King Emperor (AIR 1934 PC) page 227 afford a correct guide for the appellate court approach to a case in disposing of such an appeal. These principles require that the appellate court should give proper weight and consideration to such matters as, the view of the trial Judge as to credibility of the witnesses, the presumption of innocence in favour of the accused, the right of the accused to the benefit of doubt, and the slowness of an appellate court in disturbing the findings of fact arrived at by a Judge who had the advantage of seeing the witnesses. These matters and guidelines are the "Rules and Principles" in the administration of justice.
(iii) The appellate court in coming to its conclusion should not only consider every matter on record having a bearing on the question of fact and the reasons given by the court below in support of its order of acquittal, but should also express those reasons to hold that the acquittal was not justified; Damodar Prasad Chandrika Prasad vs. State of Maharashtra 1972 (1) SCC 107.
It follows as a corollary from the above, that if two views of the evidence are reasonably possible, one supporting an acquittal and the other indicating conviction, the appellate court should not interfere merely because it feels, that it would, sitting as a trial court have taken the other view. Two views and conclusions cannot be right and one in favour of the acquittal of the accused must be preferred over the other because our criminal jurisprudence demands that the benefit of doubt must prevail. If, two reasonably, probable and evenly balanced views of the evidence are possible, one must necessarily concede the existence of reasonable doubt. Even otherwise we find that the consistent legal position as laid down by the Apex Court with regard to the scope of interference in an appeal against acquittal is to the effect that until or unless it can be pointed out that there is some illegality or perversity with the findings as have been recorded by the court concerned or until or unless it can be shown that the view taken by the court concerned while writing a verdict of acquittal is perverse or not possible, the appellate court ought not to interfere.
"Suffice it to say that the Apex Court has consistently held that in dealing with appeals against acquittal, the appellate court must bear in mind the following:
(i) There is presumption of innocence in favour of an accused person and such presumption is strengthened by the order of acquittal passed in his favour by the trial court,
(ii) The accused person is entitled to the benefit of reasonable doubt when it deals with the merit of the appeal against acquittal,
(iii) Though, the power of the appellate court in considering the appeals against acquittal are as extensive as its powers in appeals against convictions but the appellate court is generally loath in disturbing the finding of fact recorded by the trial court. It is so because the trial court had an advantage of seeing the demeanor of the witnesses. If the trial court takes a reasonable view of the facts of the case, interference by the appellate court with the judgment of acquittal is not justified. Unless, the conclusions reached by the trial court are palpably wrong or based on erroneous view of the law or if such conclusions are allowed to stand, they are likely to result in grave injustice, the reluctance on the part of the appellate court in interfering with such conclusions is fully justified, and
(iv) Merely because the appellate court on re-appreciation and re-evaluation of the evidence is inclined to take a different view, interference with the judgment of acquittal is not justified if the view taken by the trial court is a possible view. The evenly balanced views of the evidence must not result in the interference by the appellate court in the judgment of the trial court."
Regard may also be had to the consistent legal position with regard to the scope and interference by the High Court in the judgement and order of acquittal. The Apex Court in the case of Murlidhar @ Gidda & Anr. Vs. State of Karnataka decided on 09.04.2014 in Criminal Appeal No. 791 of 2011 has observed as under:
"The Supreme Court started by citing Lord Russell in Sheo Swarup highlighted the approach of the High Court as an appellate court hearing the appeal against acquittal. Lord Russell said,....."the High Court should and will always give proper weight and consideration to such matters as:
(1) The views of the trial Judge as to the credibility of the witnesses;
(2) The presumption of innocence in favour of the accused, a presumption certainly not weakened by the fact that he has been acquitted at his trial;
(3) The right of the accused to the benefit of any doubt; and (4) The slowness of an appellate court in disturbing a finding of fact arrived at by a Judge who had the advantage of seeing the witnesses." The opinion of the Lord Russell has been followed over the years.
11. As early as in 1952, this Court in Surajpal Singh[2] while dealing with the powers of the High Court in an appeal against acquittal under Section 417 of the Criminal Procedure Code observed, "..........the High Court has full power to review the evidence upon which the order of acquittal was founded, but it is equally well settled that the presumption of innocence of the accused is further reinforced by his acquittal by the trial court, and the findings of the trial court which had the advantage of seeing the witnesses and hearing their evidence can be reversed only for very substantial and compelling reasons."
12. The approach of the appellate court in the appeal against acquittal has been dealt with by this Court in Tulsiram Kanu[3], Madan Mohan Singh[4], Atley[5] , Aher Raja Khima[6], Balbir Singh[7], M.G. Agarwal[8], Noor Khan[9], Khedu Mohton[10], Shivaji Sahabrao Bobade[11], Lekha Yadav[12], Khem Karan[13], Bishan Singh[14], Umedbhai Jadavbhai[15], K. Gopal Reddy[16], Tota Singh[17], Ram Kumar[18], Madan Lal[19], Sambasivan[20], Bhagwan Singh[21], Harijana Thirupala[22], C. Antony[23], K. Gopalakrishna[24], Sanjay Thakran[25] and Chandrappa[26]. It is not necessary to deal with these cases individually. Suffice it to say that this Court has consistently held that in dealing with appeals against acquittal, the appellate court must bear in mind the following: (i) There is presumption of innocence in favour of an accused person and such presumption is strengthened by the order of acquittal passed in his favour by the trial court, (ii) The accused person is entitled to the benefit of reasonable doubt when it deals with the merit of the appeal against acquittal, (iii) Though, the power of the appellate court in considering the appeals against acquittal are as extensive as its powers in appeals against convictions but the appellate court is generally loath in disturbing the finding of fact recorded by the trial court. It is so because the trial court had an advantage of seeing the demeanor of the witnesses. If the trial court takes a reasonable view of the facts of the case, interference by the appellate court with the judgment of acquittal is not justified. Unless, the conclusions reached by the trial court are palpably wrong or based on erroneous view of the law or if such conclusions are allowed to stand, they are likely to result in grave injustice, the reluctance on the part of the appellate court in interfering with such conclusions is fully justified, and (iv) Merely because the appellate court on re-appreciation and re-evaluation of the evidence is inclined to take a different view, interference with the judgment of acquittal is not justified if the view taken by the trial court is a possible view. The evenly balanced views of the evidence must not result in the interference by the appellate court in the judgment of the trial court.
Reference may also be made to the case of Basappa Vs. State of Karnataka decided on 27.02.2014 passed in Criminal Appeal No. 512 of 2014, wherein the Apex Court has observed as under:
"8. The High Court in an appeal under Section 378 of Cr.PC is entitled to reappraise the evidence and conclusions drawn by the trial court, but the same is permissible only if the judgment of the trial court is perverse, as held by this Court in Gamini Bala Koteswara Rao and Others v. State of Andhra Pradesh through Secretary[1]. To quote: "14. We have considered the arguments advanced and heard the matter at great length. It is true, as contended by Mr Rao, that interference in an appeal against an acquittal recorded by the trial court should be rare and in exceptional circumstances. It is, however, well settled by now that it is open to the High Court to reappraise the evidence and conclusions drawn by the trial court but only in a case when the judgment of the trial court is stated to be perverse. The word "perverse" in terms as understood in law has been defined to mean "against the weight of evidence". We have to see accordingly as to whether the judgment of the trial court which has been found perverse by the High Court was in fact so." (Emphasis supplied)
9. It is also not the case of the prosecution that the judgment of the trial court is based on no material or that it suffered from any legal infirmity in the sense that there was non-consideration or misappreciation of the evidence on record. Only in such circumstances, reversal of the acquittal by the High Court would be justified. In K. Prakashan v. P.K. Surenderan [2], it has also been affirmed by this Court that the appellate court should not reverse the acquittal merely because another view is possible on the evidence. In T. Subramanian v. State of Tamil Nadu [3], it has further been held by this Court that if two views are reasonably possible on the very same evidence, it cannot be said that the prosecution has proved the case beyond reasonable doubt.
10. In Bhim Singh v. State of Haryana [4], it has been clarified that interference by the appellate court against an order of acquittal would be justified only if the view taken by the trial court is one which no reasonable person would in the given circumstances, take.
11. In Kallu alias Masih and others v. State of Madhya Pradesh [5], it has been held by this Court that if the view taken by the trial court is a plausible view, the High Court will not be justified in reversing it merely because a different view is possible. To quote: "8. While deciding an appeal against acquittal, the power of the appellate court is no less than the power exercised while hearing appeals against conviction. In both types of appeals, the power exists to review the entire evidence. However, one significant difference is that an order of acquittal will not be interfered with, by an appellate court, where the judgment of the trial court is based on evidence and the view taken is reasonable and plausible. It will not reverse the decision of the trial court merely because a different view is possible. The appellate court will also bear in mind that there is a presumption of innocence in favour of the accused and the accused is entitled to get the benefit of any doubt. Further, if it decides to interfere, it should assign reasons for differing with the decision of the trial court." (Emphasis supplied)
12. In Ramesh Babulal Doshi v. State of Gujarat [6], this Court has taken the view that while considering the appeal against acquittal, the appellate court is first required to seek an answer to the question whether the findings of the trial court are palpably wrong, manifestly erroneous or demonstrably unsustainable and if the court answers the above question in negative, the acquittal cannot be disturbed.
14. The exercise of power under Section 378 of Cr.PC by the court is to prevent failure of justice or miscarriage of justice. There is miscarriage of justice if an innocent person is convicted; but there is failure of justice if the guilty is let scot-free. As cautioned by this Court in State of Punjab v. Karnail Singh[8]:
"6. There is no embargo on the appellate court reviewing the evidence upon which an order of acquittal is based. Generally, the order of acquittal shall not be interfered with because the presumption of innocence of the accused is further strengthened by acquittal. The golden thread which runs through the web of administration of justice in criminal cases 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 favourable to the accused should be adopted. The paramount consideration of the court is to ensure that miscarriage of justice is prevented. A miscarriage of justice which may arise from acquittal of the guilty is no less than from the conviction of an innocent. In a case where admissible evidence is ignored, a duty is cast upon the appellate court to reappreciate the evidence even where the accused has been acquitted, for the purpose of ascertaining as to whether any of the accused committed any offence or not. ..."
Last but not the least, reference may also be made to the recent judgement of Supreme Court in the case of Ashok Rai Vs. State of U.P. & Ors. Decided on 15.04.2014 in Criminal Appeal No. 1508 of 2005;
" 8. Several Judgments of this court have been cited on the principles which should guide the court while dealing with an appeal against order of acquittal. The law is so well settled that it is not necessary to refer to those judgments. Suffice it to say that the appellate court has to be very cautious while reversing an order of acquittal because order of acquittal strengthens the presumption of innocence of the accused. If the view taken by the trial court is a reasonably possible view it should not be disturbed, because the appellate court feels that some other view is also possible. A perverse order of acquittal replete with gross errors of facts and law will have to be set aside to prevent miscarriage of justice, because just as the court has to give due weight to the presumption of innocence and see that innocent person is not sentenced, it is equally the duty of the court to see that the guilty do not escape punishment. Unless the appellate court finds the order of acquittal to be clearly unreasonable and is convinced that there are substantial and compelling reasons to interfere with it, it should not interfere with it."
Reference may also be made to a judgment rendered in the case Ramesh Harijan vs. State of U.P. 2012 AIR SCW 2990 wherein the Hon'ble Apex Court has observed as under:
"only in exceptional cases where there are compelling circumstances and the judgment in appeal is found to be perverse, the appellate court can interfere with the order of the acquittal. The appellate court should bear in mind the presumption of innocence of the accused and further that the trial court's acquittal bolsters the presumption of innocence. Interference in a routine manner where the other view is possible should be avoided, unless there are good reasons for interference."
Reference may also be made to another judgment of the Hon'ble Apex Court rendered in the case of Murugesan v. State through Inspector of Police reported in 2012 AIR SCW 5627 wherein the Hon'ble Apex Court has observed as under:
"the reversal of the acquittal could have been made by the High Court only if the conclusions recorded by the learned trial court did not reflect a possible view. The use of the expression "possible view" is conscious and not without good reasons. The said expression is in contradistinction to expressions such as "erroneous view" or "wrong view". A possible view denotes an opinion which can exist or be formed irrespective of the correctness or otherwise of such an opinion. A view taken by a court lower in the hierarchical structure may be termed as erroneous or wrong by a superior court upon a mere disagreement. But such a conclusion of the higher court would not take the view rendered by the subordinate court outside the arena of a possible view. The correctness or otherwise of any conclusion reached by a court has to be tested on the basis of what the superior judicial authority perceives to be the correct conclusion. A possible view, on the other hand, denotes a conclusion which can reasonably be arrived at regardless of the fact where it is agreed upon or not by the higher court. The fundamental distinction between the two situations have to be kept in mind. So long as the view taken by the trial court can be reasonably formed, regardless of whether the High Court agrees with the same or not, the view taken by the trial court cannot be interdicted and that of the High Court supplanted over and above the view of the trial court."
Thus, in view of aforesaid consistent legal position as elaborated above and also in view of the fact that learned A.G.A. has failed to point out any illegality or perversity with the findings so recorded in the impugned order, no case for interference has been made out.
It is an established position of law that if the court below has taken a view which is a possible view in a reasonable manner, then the same shall not be interfered with.
After perusal of the impugned judgment shows that the trial court after a thorough marshalling of the facts of the case and a microscopic scrutiny of the evidence on record has held that the prosecution has failed to prove the charge against the accused respondents and the findings recorded by the learned trial judge in the impugned judgment are based upon evidence and supported by cogent reasons.
No interference with the impugned judgment and order of acquittal is warranted. Accordingly leave to appeal is refused and application is rejected. Consequently, the appeal also stands dismissed.
Copy of the order be certified to the court concerned for consequential follow up action. Lower court record may also be send back to the court concerned.
Order Date :- 06.01.2020 ujjawal