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Central Bureau of Investigation & Anr. v. Mohd. Parvez Abdul Kayuum Etc. (Haren Pandya Murder Case)

Criminal Appeal · 2019 INSC 724Decided 5 Jul 2019
Criminal Appeal Nos. 140-151 of 2012
Justice Arun Mishra · Justice Vineet Saran

Background

This is a consolidated judgment covering multiple connected appeals (Criminal Appeal Nos. 140-151, 83-94 of 2012 and others) arising from the 2003 murder of former Gujarat Home Minister Haren Pandya and a related attempt on the life of VHP leader Jagdish Tiwari, both probed by the CBI as part of a wider terror conspiracy under POTA. Criminal Appeal No. 140 of 2012 concerns accused Mohmed Parvez Sheikh (A-9), one of several men the trial court had convicted but whom the Gujarat High Court acquitted on appeal; the CBI and the State appealed that acquittal to the Supreme Court. A connected writ petition also sought a fresh investigation into the case.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court restored the trial court's conviction and sentence of nine accused, including Mohmed Parvez Sheikh (A-9), under POTA Sections 3(1) and 3(3) and Sections 120-B/302 IPC, holding that the High Court had erred in overturning well-reasoned findings based on strong circumstantial and confessional evidence of a coordinated conspiracy. For a few other accused whose sentences the CBI had not appealed, or who had already served their terms, the Court made no further order. The separate writ petition seeking fresh investigation was dismissed as devoid of merit, with the Court imposing costs for what it termed a repetitive, vexatious attempt to reopen a settled matter.

Lesson Learnt

Appellate courts can and will reverse an unjustified acquittal in a serious criminal case where the trial court's conviction was grounded in cogent evidence, including confessional statements and corroborated conspiracy evidence, and courts will not entertain repeated attempts to reinvestigate a case absent genuinely new material.

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

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