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Ajmer Singh & Ors. vs. The State of Haryana

Criminal Appeal · 2023 INSC 349Decided 11 Apr 2023
Criminal Appeal Nos. 665-666 of 2011
Abhay S. Oka · Rajesh Bindal

Background

In 1997 in Haryana, a dispute over the use of a passage led to a violent clash between two family groups: the appellants (using a tractor-trolley and carrying agricultural implements like a lathi and a spade) and a complainant family, resulting in injuries to members of both sides. The trial court convicted the appellants (one of whom died during the appeal's pendency, abating his part of the case) under Sections 148, 323, 325 and 307 read with Section 149 IPC, and the High Court upheld the conviction while later modifying the sentence. A separate civil suit filed by the complainant's side claiming ownership of the passage was ultimately dismissed, with the passage found to belong to the Gram Panchayat rather than to either family.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court found that both sides had suffered injuries in what was essentially a free-for-all fight, but the lower courts' judgments focused entirely on the injuries and evidence of the complainant's side while giving no consideration to the injuries suffered by the appellants or to their version of events. The Court noted the appellants used only ordinary agricultural implements they were carrying for routine farm work, not premeditated weapons, and that the underlying property dispute had since been resolved by a civil court in a way that undercut the complainant party's claimed ownership of the passage. Given this one-sided assessment of the evidence, the Court held the conviction could not be legally sustained, set aside the judgments of the trial court and High Court, and discharged the appellants' bail bonds.

Lesson Learnt

In a mutual fight where both sides are injured, courts must weigh the evidence and injuries on both sides evenhandedly rather than accepting only the complainant's account: a one-sided appreciation of evidence in a free-fight case can itself be grounds for setting aside a conviction.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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