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State of Punjab vs. Paramjit Singh alias Pamma

Criminal Appeal · 2023 INSC 691Decided 2 Aug 2023
Criminal Appeal No. 1306 of 2014
Abhay S. Oka · Sanjay Karol

Background

The respondent was convicted of murder by the trial court based mainly on the testimony of an alleged eyewitness and an extra-judicial confession said to have been made to a village ex-sarpanch. The High Court overturned the conviction and acquitted him, finding both pieces of evidence unreliable: the eyewitness had behaved unnaturally by not informing police or the deceased's family for many hours despite opportunities to do so, and the alleged confession was made to someone with no established relationship of trust, more than two weeks after the incident. The State of Punjab appealed this acquittal to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court examined whether the High Court's view was a "possible view" based on the evidence, which is the limited standard for interfering with an acquittal. It agreed that the eyewitness's conduct, going home without alerting police or the victim's family despite having the chance, was genuinely suspicious, and that a confession to a virtual stranger long after the incident did not inspire confidence, since people ordinarily confess only to those they trust. Finding the High Court's reasoning cogent and reasonable, the Supreme Court declined to interfere and dismissed the State's appeal, upholding the acquittal.

Lesson Learnt

An appellate court will not overturn an acquittal merely because another view of the evidence is possible. It will only interfere if the acquitting court's reasoning was not a reasonable, permissible view of the evidence on record; unnatural witness conduct (like not reporting a crime for hours) can genuinely undermine an eyewitness's credibility.

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

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