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Pulen Phukan & Ors. vs The State of Assam (Criminal Appeal No. 906 of 2016)

Criminal Appeal · 2023 INSC 305Decided 28 Mar 2023
Criminal Appeal No. 906 of 2016
B.R. Gavai · Vikram Nath · Sanjay Karol

Background

In 1989, a group of villagers were alleged to have cordoned off a house in Dibrugarh district, Assam, injured one man, and killed another (Pradip Phukan) with sharp weapons, following a village dispute. Eleven of thirteen named accused were tried, convicted of murder and rioting by the Sessions Court, and sentenced to life imprisonment; the Gauhati High Court upheld the conviction. Only four of the convicted persons (Pulen Phukan, Jiten Phukan, Mridul Saikia and Mozen Phukan) pursued the further appeal to the Supreme Court, more than two decades after the incident.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court scrutinised the prosecution's eyewitness evidence closely and found serious inconsistencies: different eyewitnesses attributed the fatal blow to different accused persons, one accused's name was missing from the original police complaint (FIR) even though witnesses later implicated him, and there was no independent proof of the alleged weapon (axe) or of blood-stained soil from the crime scene. The Court also noted an unexplained and troubling detail: police personnel from the local station were apparently present at the scene throughout the incident, raising the possibility that the killing occurred during an arrest attempt and that the criminal case may have been fabricated to cover this up. Concluding these material contradictions and gaps meant the prosecution had not proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, the Court gave the appellants the benefit of the doubt, set aside the conviction and sentence, and ordered their release.

Lesson Learnt

A criminal conviction cannot stand where eyewitnesses materially contradict each other on who did what, and where the prosecution fails to independently corroborate its story (through the murder weapon, forensic evidence, or an unbiased investigation): the benefit of any genuine doubt must go to the accused, no matter how serious the underlying crime.

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

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