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Latesh @ Dadu Baburao Karlekar v. The State of Maharashtra

Criminal Appeal · 2018 INSC 70Decided 30 Jan 2018
Criminal Appeal No. 1301 of 2015
Justice N.V. Ramana · Justice Amitava Roy

Background

Six men armed with a chopper, sword, sickle and sticks attacked two brothers returning home at night in Mulund, Mumbai, over an old enmity, killing one brother and injuring the other. The trial court convicted all six accused of murder and related offences, and the Bombay High Court partly allowed their appeals, modifying some convictions but upholding others. Five of the convicted men, including the present appellant Latesh Karlekar (Accused No. 3), brought further appeals to the Supreme Court, which were heard together as a common judgment.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court examined the eyewitness testimony, the dying declaration, recovery of weapons, and medical evidence for each accused individually. It held that the case against Accused Nos. 2 and 3 (which includes the present appellant, Latesh Karlekar) had not been proved beyond reasonable doubt, since the specific evidence implicating them was comparatively weak, and ordered them set free forthwith. The Court, however, upheld the murder conviction of Accused No. 1 (who was caught red-handed with a blood-stained chopper) and upheld attempt-to-murder convictions against Accused Nos. 5 and 6, finding the evidence against them, including recovery of weapons and consistent witness testimony, cogent and reliable.

Lesson Learnt

In joint trials involving multiple accused, Indian courts assess the evidence against each individual separately rather than treating a group as uniformly guilty or innocent, being named as a co-accused in a serious crime does not mean the evidence against every person is equally strong, and an appellate court can and does acquit some while upholding convictions of others in the very same incident.

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

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