Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 3: Division Bench of High Court comprising Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Justice Sanjay Dhar has upheld life-imprisonment of Ramesh Chander, Head Constable in CRPF, who had fired several rounds with his service rifle which resulted in death of two persons–Head Constable Tufail Ahmad Khan and Head Constable Sadashiv Tiwari and injuries to Head Constable Biren Malakar and Constable Hemango Burman.
After hearing both the sides, the DB observed, “it is not a case where prosecution has itself chosen not to produce the witnesses in the court but it is a case where evidence of the prosecution was closed by the orders of the court because the trial could not be completed expeditiously on account of the fact that most of the prosecution witnesses, upon their transfer to different parts of country, were not readily available for their production before the court”.
“Thus, the prosecution in the instant case has not deliberately withheld any evidence from the court, as such no adverse inference can be drawn against it. The argument of counsel for the appellant is, therefore, without any merit”, the DB said, adding “the impugned judgment of conviction and sentence passed by the trial court is well-reasoned and based upon correct appreciation of evidence on record. The same, therefore, does not call for any interference”.
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