Criminal Appeal against life imprisonment for murder. High Court allowed appeal, holding conviction unsustainable due to planted witnesses, lack of identification particulars, and sealed complaint against an accused with mental instability.
Conviction and sentence quashed; appellant released from jail forthwith if not required in any other court.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
1342A1
IN THE HIGHCOURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA AT HYDERABAD
TUESDAY, THENINETEENTH DAY OF NOVEMBER TWO THOUSANDAND TWENTY FOUR
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLESRIJUSTICEK.SURENDER AND THE HONOURABLESRI JUSTICE K' SARATH
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO: 845 OF 2016
' Appeal under Section 374(2) of Cr'P'C against the Judgment Dated 20-01-2016passed in s.c.No.528of 2014 on the file of the courtof the Judge, Family Court- cum- Vlll Additional Sessions Judge, Mahabubnagar'
Between:
Prabhu Das @Shiva, Sio'(Merk, as Stated by the lccusedat the time Judgrnent) U;;"B"ssilR/;.-ftaid"'c.u.i,rl"r, Ravinder Reddvhouse, Now Presently residing atYenugonda
...APELLANT/ACCUSED
AND
ThestateofTelangana,Rep'byitsPublicProsecutorHighCourtofJudicatureat Hyderabad
...RESPODENT/COMPLAINANT
Counsel forthe Appellant : Sri' Pendiyala SuhasiniReddy
Counsel fortheRespondent: Public Prosecutor
The Court deliveredthe following:
THE HONOURABLESRI JUSTICE K'SURENDER AND THEHONOURABLE SRI JUSTICEK' SARATH CRIMINALAPPEALNo.845 0F 2016
JUDGMENT: (per Hon'bleSri JusticeK surender)
)
appellantsnatched the axe from the handsof the deceased and beathim on his head resulting in his death'
6 . Duringthe course of investigation,on 26 'O7 '2012 ,tor.rd 9a.m. i.e., nearly 4/' months after the incident'the InvestigatingOfficer got information about the appellant and he was arrested.His confession was recorded inthe
3
presence of P.W.8- The appellant allegedly confessed to have committed murder of the deceased on 09.O3.2012.
1O. P.Ws.2, 4 and 5 as already stated, their names were not mentioned in the complaint. Admittedty, there was no Test Identification Parade of the appellant after his arrest on 26.O7.2012. P.W.2's evidence was on 20.lL.2OlS i.e. after 3/z years and the evidence of P.W.4, another witness was on 24.11.2075 after more than 3Yz 5rears, similarly evider:Lce of
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4
:;tr.
P.W.S was on 24.11.2015. In theirchief examination,they have identified theappellant stating that he was the person who attacked the deceased with anaxe.
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L4. As seen from the record, tJle appellant was not mentally frt. Even according to the prosecution evidence and the Investigating Officer and the learned Sessions Judge, the appellant was being treated for mental illness. It appears that the Police have implicated the appellant whose mirrd was unstable in an unsolved case after 3yz months.
forthwith, if not required in any,o-ther ca_se.
Sd/. K. SRINIVASA RAO JOINT REGISTRAR
//TRUE COPY//
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SECTION OFFICER
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HIGH COURT
DATED:1911112024
JUOGMENT
CRLA.No.84Sot 2016
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ALLOWINGTHE CRIMINAL APPEAL
20\ ,\e\ V
1 issue framed by the court
Whether the conviction for murder can be sustained when eye-witnesses were not named in the complaint and identification occurred after a delay of over three and a half years.
2 provisions across 2 enactments
Prabhu Das @ Shiva
The State of Telangana
Justice K. Surender
Justice K. Sarath
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
