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Khekh Ram v. State of H.P.

Criminal Appeal · 2017 INSC 1093Decided 10 Nov 2017
Criminal Appeal No. 1110 of 2016
Justice N.V. Ramana · Justice Amitava Roy

Background

In the early hours of 20.10.2009, a police patrol in Himachal Pradesh signalled a car to stop; its driver fled into an orchard and was never caught at the scene. A search of the car turned up 14.75 kg of charas, along with the car's registration papers (in a third party's name) and a bank passbook belonging to the appellant, Khekh Ram. Based mainly on this passbook and the partial, inconsistent identification testimony of two patrol members who did not know the appellant beforehand, Khekh Ram was arrested a day later and tried under the NDPS Act. The Trial Court acquitted him, but the Himachal Pradesh High Court reversed the acquittal on appeal and sentenced him to 20 years' rigorous imprisonment.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that identification of the appellant as the fleeing driver was the crux of the case, since the search and seizure happened in his absence. The two prosecution witnesses who claimed to identify him admittedly did not know him before the incident, saw him only briefly from a distance or from behind in poor light, and no test identification parade was ever held. The photographs the prosecution relied on to corroborate the seizure bore no date, or a date years earlier than the seizure, undermining their credibility. The Court held that mere recovery of the appellant's passbook from the vehicle, without reliable identification evidence, could not by itself prove he was the driver in conscious possession of the contraband; suspicion, however strong, is not proof. Finding the Trial Court's view of acquittal reasonable and the High Court's reversal unjustified, the Supreme Court restored the acquittal, allowed the appeal, and separately directed a police inquiry into the shoddy investigation in the case.

Lesson Learnt

A conviction cannot rest on the mere recovery of an accused's personal item at a crime scene when there is no reliable, corroborated identification placing him there: in criminal cases, especially those carrying severe punishment, the prosecution's evidence must prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt, not merely raise suspicion.

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

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