Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Mar 12: The High Court has dismissed three separate appeals filed by the prosecution against the acquittal of various persons involved in drug trafficking citing that the prosecution has failed to prove the cases before the trial court resulting into acquittal of these accused as also appeals of prosecution filed on belated stage.
The Division Bench of Justice Tashi Rabstan and Justice V C Koul while dealing with three appeals filed by the prosecution against three judgments of different trial courts acquitting therein all the accused persons involved in drug trafficking due to failure of prosecution to make the case against these accused persons during trial of these cases.
While dealing with the appeal filed against one Mohinder Singh, the DB said High Court while hearing an acquittal appeal can re-appreciate the evidence. However, it should not interfere with the order of acquittal if the view taken by the trial court is a reasonable view of the evidence on record and findings recorded by the trial court are not manifestly erroneous, contrary to the evidence on record or perverse.
The DB has also taken note on the aspect of filing of appeal by the prosecution on belated stage to which the court said, cannot lose sight of. The filing of appeal by the prosecution against the judgment of acquittal after a delay of 165 days.
The DB said the appellant-prosecution has not mentioned as to when it had applied for obtaining the certified copy of the trial court judgment. Though the sanction for filing of appeal was accorded by the Government but the same came to be filed after complete lapse of about more than five months.
The DB said UT has failed to give any cogent reason for this delay, let alone explain day to day delay in filing the appeal as such the statutory period of limitation prescribed cannot be condoned as a matter of course.
“The party seeking condonation of delay was required to satisfy the court that there was sufficient cause justifying condo-nation of delay. Merely saying that the delay was on account of procedural aspect, is not sufficient cause to condone the delay”, read the judgment.
Court as such concluded that there is no illegality or infirmity in the findings returned by the trial court while acquitting the accused from the charges under NDPS Act.
Dealing with the appeal against the Riaz Ahmed who was charged under NDPS Act and acquitted by the trial court, the DB said the prosecution has miserably failed to bring home the charge against the accused before the trial court thus the trial court has rightly acquitted the accused.
About the appeal against the acquittal of Abdul Hafeez and third accused, the DB said the judgment of trial court reveals that the statements of independent witnesses do not support the version of police theory nor corroborate with the statements of rest of the prosecution witness. “All other witnesses of police personnel and their statements seem to be very contradictory regarding the seizure and possession of the contraband from the accused persons”, the DB recorded. “For the stated reasons and facts and the position of law coupled with the reasoning recorded by the trial courts, we do not find any solid and weighty reasons to take a view other than the one taken by the trial courts, rather the courts below in these circumstances had no option but to acquit the accused persons for want of adequacy of evidence. Accordingly, Criminal Acquittal Appeals fail and the acquittal judgments are upheld”, DB concluded.
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