Prayagraj, Sep 28 (PTI) The Allahabad High Court has acquitted four persons who were sentenced to death by a trial court in 2017 Budaun double murder case, holding that prosecution’s evidence did not prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
A division bench comprising Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Achal Sachdev directed the accused’s release forthwith if they are not wanted in any other case.
Observing that evidence pointed to suspicion, but did not prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt, the bench in its September 8 order allowed appeal of Vijay Pal, Ramveer, Kishan Lal and his wife Jaldhara and set aside death reference.
The four accused persons were sentenced to death by a Budaun trial court for their alleged involvement in the 2017 murder of Govind and Asha.
On September 22, 2022, the trial court at Badaun had sentenced all four accused to death under sections 302 (murder) and 34 (common intention) of Indian Penal Code.
According to the prosecution, Govind and Asha died in Budaun on May 14, 2017. Autopsy reports indicated six injuries on Govind and three on Asha with shock and haemorrhage as the cause of death.
An FIR was registered at Wazirganj on a complaint by Govind’s father Pappu under IPC sections 147, 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon) and 302.
During the trial, the prosecution alleged that Govind was romantically linked to Kishan’s daughter Asha which the appellants did not accept. It further alleged that Kishan’s kin Vijay invited Govind home to discuss their marriage where he was attacked with a sharp-edged object and killed. Asha protested and she too was killed.
On September 17, 2022, the trial court in Budaun convicted them. Five days later, they were sentenced to death along with a fine of Rs 50,000.
Subsequently, the accused moved a criminal appeal before a division bench of high court which noted that the eyewitness accounts were doubtful.
It stated that the investigating officer provided no reason for not examining the immediate neighbours. Also, seizure witnesses were not examined. There were inconsistencies about the weapon used for the crime, the high court said.
Moreover, the forensic lab found human blood, but the blood group could not be determined, it said.
The order was made available on Monday. PTI COR RAJ KVK
KVK
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.