A Division Judge Bench of Justice Sudhir Singh and Justice Chandra Prakash Singh of the Patna High Court in the case of Dadan Choudhary Vs The State of Bihar held that if the initial investigative procedure exhibits flaws arising from the breach of established guidelines, it raises doubt regarding the integrity of the entire T.I. Parade and the prosecution case.
Brief Facts:
The factual matrix of the case is that the while informant along with his brother after withdrawing Rs.80,000/- from P.N.B proceeding towards their village got surrounded by 5 miscreants who started demanding cash but the brother of the informant refused to give the case due to which the miscreants shot him and took cash from the pocket of the brother of the informant.
Thereafter, the FIR was registered under Section 396 of I.P.C. Upon investigation the charge sheet was filed for the offences under Sections 396 and 412 of I.P.C. Thereafter, the learned trial court convicted the appellant.
Contentions of the Appellant:
The learned counsel appearing on behalf of the appellant contended that the trial court while rendering the judgment overlooked the infirmities. Furthermore, it was contended that the prosecution had clearly failed to establish the place of occurrence. Also, the investigating officer didn’t adhere to the guidelines issued in the Bihar Police Manual, 1978, regarding the proper conduct of the test identification parade, and the identity of the accused was also disclosed before the identification.
Contentions of the State:
The learned counsel for the state contended that the prosecution has established the case beyond reasonable doubt and the judgment of the trial court requires no interference. Furthermore, it was contended that minor discrepancies in the testimony of the witnesses do not undermine the entirety of their evidence.
Observations of the Court:
The Hon’ble court observed that disclosing the CCTV footage to the informant before the identification parade is not in accordance with the guidelines issued in the Bihar Police Manual 1978, specifically Section 236(a)(3) of the manual. Thereafter, the Hon’ble Court relied upon the judgment titled Sk. Umar Ahmed Shaikh v. State of Maharashtra and furthermore observed that it would not be wise to rely on the T. I. Parade to prove the accused person's guilt. It is crucial to recognise that the T. I. Parade does not qualify as substantive evidence; instead, its purpose is to support or refute the statements given by witnesses in court. However, a thorough study must include a thorough examination of the T. I. Parade. The legitimacy of the whole T.I. Parade and the prosecution case is therefore called into question if the initial investigation technique shows faults resulting from the violation of set norms.
It was noted that the motorcycle was found 10 feet away from the deceased’s body and the accused shot him when he was sitting on the motorcycle. Furthermore, no CCTV footage was found regarding withdrawing the money which casts ả significant doubt on the credibility of the prosecution case.
It was furthermore noted that there have been major contradictions in the testimony of the eyewitnesses and the non-examination of the eyewitness prejudices the case.
Based on these considerations, the Hon’ble Court was of the view that the judgment of the trial court is not sustainable in the eyes of the law.
The decision of the Court:
With the above direction, the Hon’ble Court dismissed the appeal.
Case Title: Dadan Choudhary Vs The State of Bihar
Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Sudhir Singh and Hon’ble Mr. Justice Chandra Prakash Singh
Case No.: Criminal Appeal No. 157 of 2018
Advocate for the Appellant: Mr. Sunil Kumar Pathak, Advocate
Advocate for the Respondent: Mr. Abhimanyu Sharma, A.P.P
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