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K.H. Balakrishna vs The State of Karnataka (Criminal Appeal No. 1006 of 2011)

Criminal Appeal · 2023 INSC 267Decided 21 Mar 2023
Criminal Appeal No. 1006 of 2011
V. Ramasubramanian · Pankaj Mithal

Background

The appellant was convicted by a trial court and the Karnataka High Court for kidnapping a young woman (who was engaged to marry another man) and forcing her into marriage with him, allegedly by making her unconscious with a chemical and taking her to different cities over about three weeks before she was reunited with her family. He was sentenced under Sections 366 (kidnapping to compel marriage), 342 (wrongful confinement), and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court closely examined the victim's own testimony and found it inconsistent with a genuine kidnapping. There was no evidence her mother was actually hospitalised (the reason she claimed to be travelling when "kidnapped"), she never tried to escape during three weeks together, she made no complaint to police herself, the family delayed reporting to police until after she called them, the appellant never mistreated or forced himself on her, and wedding photos/video showed her smiling and appearing willingly married. The evidence also showed the two had known each other since 1993 through an earlier failed marriage proposal. Concluding the prosecution's case did not prove kidnapping or coercion beyond reasonable doubt, and noting both parties had since married other people, the Court set aside the conviction and sentence and acquitted the appellant.

Lesson Learnt

A criminal conviction, especially for a serious offence like kidnapping, cannot rest on a victim's statement alone when that statement is riddled with unexplained inconsistencies and contradicted by surrounding facts and conduct. Courts must look at the complete circumstantial picture, not just the prosecutrix's word, before upholding a conviction.

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

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