Mumbai: Observing that it is conscious of a person loosing his life at young age, the Bombay High Court on Monday acquitted 12 men and set aside their lifetime imprisonment punishment. The men were accused of killing Heera Pujari (19) by means of deadly weapons over enmity between two Ganpati mandals, in 2008. The men were accordingly convicted by a sessions court in Pune and were sentenced to rigorous lifetime imprisonment and were also asked to pay a fine.
A division bench of Justices Sambhaji Shinde and Mridula Bhatkar however, acquitted the men saying, “We are conscious of the fact that one person has lost his life in his young age. However, in absence of cogent, trustworthy and reliable evidence, we cannot subscribe the view adopted by the sessions court.” “There is no clinching and credible evidence to convict the accused for the offences levelled against them. The reasons and findings recorded by the sessions court, are found to be perverse and based upon improper appreciation of evidence on record and findings are not sustainable in law. We are of the view that the accused deserves to be given benefit of doubt,” the bench said.
The deceased Heera Pujari — an unemployed, was killed in October 2008 while he was resting in his house. The prosecution claimed that the accused barged into Pujari’s house in Happy Colony with deadly weapons like swords, sticks, scythes etc. Some of them stood guard at the door with swords while others went inside and attacked Pujari, who was asleep, with sharp weapons.
According to the prosecution, the convicts had floated a Ganpati mandal in Gosavi Vasti while Pujari was a member of another Ganpati mandal in the same locality. The prosecution claimed that the members of both the mandals were at loggerheads and they used to fight over every and any issues besides lodging police complaints against each other. The prosecution had examined several witnesses including Pujari’s sister, who claimed to have witnessed the entire incident. Apart from family members the prosecution had also recorded statements of the neighbours.
Having perused the evidence on record, the bench said, “The prosecution has examined only interested witnesses and all the witnesses are from one and the same group and closely related to Heera. None of these witnesses had approached the police station immediately after the incident and nor did the police recorded their statements on the day of incident.”
“Therefore, the possibility of false implication of the accused persons cannot be ruled out. Further, the seized articles were in the custody of the investigating officer for a considerable period and during the said period possibility of tampering with the material cannot be ruled out,” the bench said.