Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 24: A Division Bench of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court comprising Justice Sanjeev Kumar and Justice Puneet Gupta has upheld the acquittal of three accused namely Sayed Shabir Bukhari, son of Syed Gh Mohiuudin, Shakil Ahmad Sofi, son of Habibullah Sofi of Kreeri Pattan and Mushtaq Hussain Akhoon, son of Gh Ahmad of Saeda Kadal, Srinagar in the 2005 assassination case of former Education Minister Gulam Nabi Lone, stating that the “evidence on record is too weak and shaky to arrive at a conclusion different from one arrived at by the Trial Court.”
The Division Bench dismissed the State’s appeal against the acquittal of the accused, emphasizing that the prosecution failed to provide cogent and credible evidence to prove their involvement in the conspiracy behind the terrorist attack.
“On re-evaluation of evidence by us, we see no good reason to take a view different from the one taken by the Trial Court. The evidence on record is too weak and shaky to arrive at a conclusion different from one arrived at by the Trial Court”, DB said.
The Trial Court, in its judgment dated October 10, 2012, acquitted all three accused, citing a lack of credible evidence to prove their involvement in the conspiracy. The State, dissatisfied with the acquittal, filed an appeal before the High Court.
The Division Bench after a thorough examination of the evidence and the Trial Court’s judgment concluded that the prosecution had failed to establish a concrete case against the accused. The bench noted that the evidence presented was riddled with contradictions and lacked the necessary credibility to prove the conspiracy beyond a reasonable doubt.
The DB observed that the prosecution’s case primarily relied on circumstantial evidence, including alleged disclosure statements made by the accused, call records and recovered materials such as video tapes and sketches. However, the bench found that these pieces of evidence were not sufficient to form an unbroken chain of circumstances that could conclusively link the accused to the crime.
The DB further observed that the prosecution had claimed that the accused were in constant touch with the operational chief of LeT based in Pakistan and had provided logistical support to the suicide attackers. However, the Court found that the call details and other materials recovered from the accused were not adequately proved during the trial. The disclosure statements, which led to the recovery of video tapes and sketches, were also not substantiated to the satisfaction of the Court.
With these observations, Division Bench dismissed the State’s appeal, finding it to be without merit.
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