Gujarat High Court
State Of Gujarat vs Ajay @ Harisinh Kevalsinh Thakur on 6 October, 2025
NEUTRAL CITATION
R/CR.A/339/2013 JUDGMENT DATED: 06/10/2025
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 339 of 2013
FOR APPROVAL AND SIGNATURE:
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE CHEEKATI MANAVENDRANATH ROY
and
HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE D. M. VYAS
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Approved for Reporting Yes No
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STATE OF GUJARAT
Versus
AJAY @ HARISINH KEVALSINH THAKUR & ANR.
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Appearance:
MS KRINA CALLA, APP for the Appellant(s) No. 1
MR. DEVENDRA G RANA(6997) for the Opponent(s)/Respondent(s) No. 2
RULE SERVED for the Opponent(s)/Respondent(s) No. 1
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE CHEEKATI
MANAVENDRANATH ROY
and
HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE D. M. VYAS
Date : 06/10/2025
ORAL JUDGMENT
(PER : HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE CHEEKATI MANAVENDRANATH ROY)
1. This appeal is directed against the judgment dated 16/10/2012 passed in Sessions Case No.147 of 2012 on the file of the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Ahmedabad City whereby respondent nos.1 and 2 herein were acquitted of the charges punishable under Sections 302, 394 and 398 of the Page 1 of 10 Uploaded by PATEL ILA KANTIBHAI(HC00194) on Tue Oct 07 2025 Downloaded on : Wed Oct 08 00:37:18 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.A/339/2013 JUDGMENT DATED: 06/10/2025 undefined Indian Penal Code.
2. Facts of the prosecution case lie in a narrow compass and may be sated as follows:
2.1. On 13/11/2006, the mother of the de-facto complainant by name Vinaben (hereinafter called as the deceased) was in the kitchen room of her house at about 12:00 noon. At that time, some unknown persons gained entrance into the house and entered the kitchen room of the house and they all caught hold of her and one person among them has cut the throat of the deceased with a knife while others caught hold of her and thereafter all of them have taken away her Gold Bangles and Gold Chain and left the house. The deceased has fallen on the ground in the kitchen and she was lying in a pool of blood.
Her husband and her son went out on some work and she was alone in the house at that time. After her husband and her son who is the de-facto complainant returned home, they found the deceased in a pool of blood in the kitchen room of their house. They found one knife with blood stains by the side of the dead body. The son of the deceased who is examined as PW-3 lodged a report with the police stating that Page 2 of 10 Uploaded by PATEL ILA KANTIBHAI(HC00194) on Tue Oct 07 2025 Downloaded on : Wed Oct 08 00:37:18 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.A/339/2013 JUDGMENT DATED: 06/10/2025 undefined some unknown persons entered their house while her mother was alone in the house and they killed her by cutting her throat with a knife and stolen her Gold Bangles and Gold Chain. The said report was registered as a crime for the aforesaid offences. The case was investigated. The knife at the scene of offence was seized by the police in presence of the mediators. It was sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL). They opined that human blood was found on the knife which is of "B" group which matches with the blood group of the deceased.
2.2. Thereafter, inspite of efforts made by the Investigating Officer, the identity of the culprits could not be traced. Long time thereafter i.e. in the year 2010 after four years, on 15/08/2010, A-1 was arrested in connection with other similar crimes. During the course of interrogation, he confessed that he committed the present crime also in the year 2006. His custody was obtained by way of obtaining the PT warrant against him. It is stated that he has led the police along with another set of mediators to the scene of offence in the present case and has shown the house of the de-facto complainant saying that they have committed the present crime in the said Page 3 of 10 Uploaded by PATEL ILA KANTIBHAI(HC00194) on Tue Oct 07 2025 Downloaded on : Wed Oct 08 00:37:18 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.A/339/2013 JUDGMENT DATED: 06/10/2025 undefined house. It is further stated that A-1 also disclosed the name of A-2 for the co-accused who perpetrated the said crime along with him. So, they arrested A-2 also on 28/08/2010.
3. Thereafter the police laid charge sheet against A-1 and A-2 for the aforesaid offences.
4. In the trial court, after the accused made their appearance, charges under Sections 302, 394 and 398 of the Indian Penal Code were framed against them. They denied the said charges and claimed to be tried.
5. In the trial that took place, the prosecution got examined PW-1 to PW-11 witnesses and got marked fifteen documents to prove its case against the accused.
6. At the conclusion of the trial, after considering the evidence on record and on appreciation of the same, the trial court found the accused not guilty for any of the charges levelled against them and acquitted them of the said charges by the impugned judgment.
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7. Therefore, aggrieved by the impugned judgment of acquittal, the State has preferred the present appeal assailing the legality and validity of the said judgment.
8. When the appeal came up for hearing before this Court, we have heard learned APP Ms. Krina Calla for the State and learned counsel Mr.Devendra G. Rana for respondent no.2. Despite service of notice on respondent no.1, he did not appear. Inspite of affording several opportunities to him in this old appeal of the year 2013, he did not turn up for hearing. Therefore, the appeal is being disposed of after hearing learned APP and learned counsel for respondent no.2 and after perusing the record and proceedings and the evidence on record.
9. As can be seen from the evidence on record, there is no direct evidence available for the prosecution to prove the identity of the culprits who committed the said offence of murder and the theft of Gold Bangles and Gold Chain. The case is purely based on circumstantial evidence. PW-3 who is the de-facto complainant is not aware of the identity of the culprits who perpetrated the crime. He does not even know Page 5 of 10 Uploaded by PATEL ILA KANTIBHAI(HC00194) on Tue Oct 07 2025 Downloaded on : Wed Oct 08 00:37:18 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.A/339/2013 JUDGMENT DATED: 06/10/2025 undefined the names of the persons who committed the crime. As he and his father went out on some personal work, the deceased was alone in the house and at that time the offence took place. So, there is nobody in the house to witness the crime even though the crime took place during the day time at 12:00 noon on the date of offence. In the FIR that was lodged by PW-3, he has stated that some unknown persons trespassed into their house and committed the crime. Even the police could not trace the culprits and they could not identify them for a period of four years. After lapse of four years period of time, in the year 2010, A-1 was arrested in connection with some other similar crimes. So, the police have obtained the PT warrant and took him into their custody and when they interrogated, it is stated that he disclosed that he has committed the present crime also along with A-2 and another and that he has led the police and the mediator examined as PW-7 to the house of the de-facto complainant and shown it to the police and stated that they have committed the crime in the said house. So, on the basis of the said statement of A-1 himself, he was arrested in connection with the present crime. On the basis of his statement, they have also arrested A-2 on 20/08/2010.
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10. Basically the said statement said to have been given by A-1 before the police amounts to giving confession regarding commission of the said crime before the police. So, it is hit by Section 24 and Section 25 of the Indian Evidence Act and it is not admissible in evidence. It cannot be used as valid evidence against the accused for the purpose of holding them guilty of committing the present offence and to convict them.
11. Even though the knife was recovered at the scene of offence and blood group of the deceased was found on the said knife as per the FSL report, it is of no use to the prosecution to prove its case against the accused. The knife was not recovered at the instance of A-1 and A-2. So, it cannot be connected to the crime said to have been committed by A-1 and A-2. The knife was not sent to fingerprint expert to find out whether there are any fingerprints of A-1 or A-2 so as to connect the said knife to the accused to prove that they have committed the said crime. So, mere recovery of knife at the scene of offence which is available at that place is of no use to the prosecution to prove the case against the accused. The gold ornaments i.e. the Page 7 of 10 Uploaded by PATEL ILA KANTIBHAI(HC00194) on Tue Oct 07 2025 Downloaded on : Wed Oct 08 00:37:18 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.A/339/2013 JUDGMENT DATED: 06/10/2025 undefined Bangles and the Chain said to have been robbed by the accused are not recovered either from the accused or at their instance from any other place. Even till today, the said gold ornaments are not recovered by the police.
12. The mediator relating to recovery of knife at the scene of offence did not support the prosecution case and he turned hostile.
13. Even though the mediator examined to prove the facts that the accused led the police and the mediator to the scene of offence by A-1 has supported the prosecution case only to some extent. His evidence was not believed by the trial court in view of the inherent infirmities found in his evidence. We do not find any legal flaw in said finding of the trial court in disbelieving his evidence. Even otherwise as already noticed supra, the said statement of A-1 amounts to confession and it is not admissible in evidence.
14. Therefore, there is absolutely no incriminating evidence available either against A-1 and A-2 in the present case to prove their complicity in commission of the offence beyond all Page 8 of 10 Uploaded by PATEL ILA KANTIBHAI(HC00194) on Tue Oct 07 2025 Downloaded on : Wed Oct 08 00:37:18 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.A/339/2013 JUDGMENT DATED: 06/10/2025 undefined reasonable doubt with acceptable legal evidence.
15. There is a clear lapse and failure on the part of the police in properly investigating the crime and to trace the real culprits and to collect adequate legal evidence to prove the case against the accused.
16. Therefore, there is not even an iota of evidence available against the accused to prove their guilt as per the allegations ascribed by the prosecution. The trial court after considering the said evidence and on proper appreciation of the same arrived at a right conclusion and acquitted the accused. We do not find any legal flaw or infirmity in the said judgment of acquittal. After considering the evidence on record and on reappraisal of the same, we do not find any semblance of evidence against the accused to hold them guilty for the charges levelled against them. Therefore, the impugned judgment of acquittal of the trial court is perfectly sustainable under law and it calls for no interference in this appeal. So, the appeal fails and is liable to be dismissed.
17. In fine, the appeal is dismissed confirming the judgment Page 9 of 10 Uploaded by PATEL ILA KANTIBHAI(HC00194) on Tue Oct 07 2025 Downloaded on : Wed Oct 08 00:37:18 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.A/339/2013 JUDGMENT DATED: 06/10/2025 undefined of the trial court. Bail bond of the accused, if any, shall stand discharged.
18. Record and proceedings be sent back forthwith to the concerned court.
(CHEEKATI MANAVENDRANATH ROY, J) (D. M. VYAS, J) ILA Page 10 of 10 Uploaded by PATEL ILA KANTIBHAI(HC00194) on Tue Oct 07 2025 Downloaded on : Wed Oct 08 00:37:18 IST 2025