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Balwan v. State of Haryana

Criminal Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Criminal Appeal No. 1842 of 2014)Decided 26 Aug 2014
Criminal Appeal No. 1842 of 2014
Justice T.S. Thakur · Justice C. Nagappan · Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel

Background

Six men appealed convictions following a midnight attack on Bani Singh's household in which he was killed and four relatives were injured. The prosecution relied on two injured women who identified the attackers. The appellants challenged the reporting delay, the absence of two other injured witnesses and the medical consistency of the alleged blows.

Decision Breakdown

The Court upheld the convictions and sentences of the other appellants but acquitted Satbir Singh. The injured witnesses' accounts were natural and trustworthy, the delay was understandable because seriously injured people were taken to hospital, and physical evidence confirmed the place of attack. Not examining every injured person did not defeat the case. Satbir's position was different: the witnesses attributed successive neck blows to him and another accused, but the autopsy showed only one neck injury. His alleged act and presence remained doubtful, so he received the benefit of doubt while the remaining appeals were dismissed.

Lesson Learnt

Reliable injured witnesses can establish an attack without every witness testifying. Even in a group prosecution, however, a material doubt about a particular person's involvement must be assessed separately.

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

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