Allahabad High Court
State Of U.P. vs Smt. Urmila W/O Vijaypal on 22 December, 2022
Bench: Ashwani Kumar Mishra, Shiv Shanker Prasad
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
?Court No. - 43
Case :- GOVERNMENT APPEAL DEFECTIVE No. - 111 of 2022
Appellant :- State of U.P.
Respondent :- Smt. Urmila W/O Vijaypal
Counsel for Appellant :- Shiv Kumar Pal
Hon'ble Ashwani Kumar Mishra,J.
Hon'ble Shiv Shanker Prasad,J.
Heard.
Delay in filing of the appeal alongwith application for grant of leave has been explained to the satisfaction of the Court.
Application is allowed. Delay in filing of appeal alongwith application for grant of leave is condoned.
This appeal is by the State alongwith prayer for grant of leave to challenge the judgment of acquittal dated 7.7.2022, passed by Special Judge, SC/ST Act, Muzaffarnagar, in Sessions Trial No.73 of 2018 (State Vs. Urmila), arising out of Case Crime No.610 of 2017, under Section 364, 302, 201 IPC, Police Station Kandhala, District Muzaffarnagar. The court below by granting benefit of doubt has acquitted the accused.
As per the written report, which forms the basis of present case, on 19.9.2017 at about 9.00 am two year old daughter of the informant did not return from the school. The FIR was initially lodged under Section 364 IPC. After 82 days the name of accused surfaced in the statement of one Lokesh, who claimed that he had seen the accused taking the victim in her lap. The investigation accordingly concluded with submission of a chargesheet against the accused under Section 364, 302, 201 IPC. It was also the prosecution case that accused indulged in occult practices and the deceased apparently was offered in sacrifice to ensure a birth of a son to the accused' son. The trial proceeded in which Lokesh, who was the witness of last seen has not been produced by the prosecution. This witness has been produced as a defence witness, who has clearly stated that no such disclosure has been made by him to the police and that he had not seen the accused taking the deceased in her lap.
Trial court upon evaluation of evidence placed on record has found that though the deceased has been brutally done to death but apart from allegations made against the accused no evidence has been produced to implicate the accused of the offence in question. It has been observed that this is a case of circumstantial evidence in which chain of events have not been completed by the prosecution, so as to point hypothesis of guilt on part of the accused.
Learned AGA has placed the judgment of the court below in order to allege that there are material irregularities in the assessment of evidence by the court below but no such irregularity has been shown to us. It remains a fact that the basis of implication of the accused is the version of last seen, which has not been substantiated and the evidence of last seen in the form of statement of Lokesh has been produced by the defence, who has clearly not supported the prosecution case. There is no other evidence brought on record in order to establish the guilt of the accused.
In that view of the matter we find that the view taken by the court below is clearly a permissible view, and that just because a different view may be possible in the facts of the case would not be a ground for this Court to interfere in the judgment of acquittal. Application for grant of leave to institute the appeal is, accordingly, rejected.
Since the application for grant of leave to institute the appeal is rejected, the Government Appeal is also dismissed.
Order Date :- 22.12.2022
Anil
