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Golbar Hussain and Ors. v. State of Assam and Anr.

Criminal Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Criminal Appeal No. 181 of 2013)Decided 28 Apr 2015
Criminal Appeal No. 181 of 2013
Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose · Justice R.K. Agrawal

Background

Five accused were charged with the murder of Hasen Ali under Section 302 read with Section 149 IPC (unlawful assembly). The trial court acquitted them, finding the two main eyewitnesses (brothers of the deceased) gave contradictory accounts unsupported by any independent witness, despite the incident allegedly occurring in a crowded marketplace. The Gauhati High Court reversed the acquittal on the State's appeal and convicted all five, sentencing them to life imprisonment.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court reiterated the settled principles governing appeals against acquittal (from Chandrappa v. State of Karnataka) - that an appellate court has full power to reappreciate evidence, but a double presumption of innocence favours an acquitted accused, and if two reasonable views are possible, the one favouring the accused should not be disturbed. It found the trial court's reasoned decision, which noted contradictions between the two related eyewitnesses and the hostility of the sole independent witness, was a reasonable and plausible view that the High Court should not have overturned. The Court held that related witnesses' testimony is admissible but must be credible and reliable, and here it was not corroborated by any independent witness despite the public setting of the crime. The appeal was allowed, the High Court's judgment was set aside, and the acquittal was restored.

Lesson Learnt

An appellate court cannot casually overturn a trial court's acquittal merely because a different view is possible; where the trial court's assessment of witness credibility was reasonable, the benefit of the doubt and the accused's presumption of innocence must prevail.

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

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