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State of Haryana v. Sunder Pal and Ors.

Criminal Appeal · 2018 INSC 1024Decided 31 Oct 2018
Criminal Appeal No. 567 of 2010
Justice R. Banumathi · Justice Indira Banerjee

Background

A nine-year-old boy, Amit Kumar, was kidnapped in May 1996 and a ransom of Rs. 3.5 lakh was paid before he was released. Several persons were arrested and the trial court convicted all accused (except one who remained untraceable) and sentenced them to life imprisonment. On appeal, the High Court acquitted most of the accused, including respondent Sunder Pal and others, finding no evidence beyond their having been seen playing cards near the location where the boy was brought, while upholding the conviction only of the two accused who had actually transported the boy on a motorcycle. The State of Haryana appealed to the Supreme Court against these acquittals.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court examined the evidence of the kidnapped boy (the principal witness) and agreed with the High Court that only the two accused who physically abducted him on the motorcycle were directly implicated, while the other accused were merely found nearby playing cards with no evidence connecting them to the kidnapping or any conspiracy. The Court held the High Court's view was a plausible one, not suffering from any serious infirmity, and that there was no good ground to interfere. It also noted that defence counsel stated three of the respondents had since died, though this did not affect the outcome. The State's appeal was dismissed, confirming the acquittals.

Lesson Learnt

Mere physical presence near the scene of a crime, without evidence of active participation or conspiracy, is not sufficient to sustain a criminal conviction: appellate courts will not disturb a reasoned and plausible acquittal just because the State disagrees with it.

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

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