- The Allahabad High Court acquitted a man convicted of killing his wife and sons in 2017 Mathura case
- The court emphasized the need for a reasonable and convincing motive in circumstantial evidence cases
- The appellant was convicted in 2022 and sentenced to life imprisonment by a trial court in Mathura
The Allahabad High Court has acquitted a man convicted of murdering his wife and two sons in Mathura in 2017, observing that the prosecution must establish a reasonable and convincing motive in cases based solely on circumstantial evidence.
A bench of justices J J Munir and Sanjiv Kumar said it would be unsafe to convict an accused in the absence of a potent motive.
Allowing the appeal filed by Babu, the court directed that he be released from jail forthwith.
The bench observed that in cases resting entirely on circumstantial evidence, it is always safe to examine whether the alleged assailant had a reasonable motive to commit the crime.
In the absence of a credible and compelling motive, the court said, a conviction based solely on circumstantial evidence would be unsafe.
According to facts of the case, on September 3, 2017, an FIR was lodged by the aunt of the appellant that in the morning hours when she went to his house, she saw bodies of his wife and two sons.
The man was not there and all three were killed by some sharp object.
The same day, the appellant was arrested from Delhi. At the time of arrest, he was wearing a blood stain shirt. On January 27, 2022, a trial court of Mathura convicted him and awarded life sentence. The present appeal was filed against that sentence.
Although it was claimed by the police that the murder weapon was recovered, no independent witness testified that the appellant informed about the place he kept the weapon.
"In our considered opinion, therefore, this incriminating circumstance of recovery of the weapon of murder at the pointing out of the appellant has to be discarded," the court said in its order dated July 13.
The court further said, "Here, the testimony, that has been offered by the prosecution, does not attribute any motive to the appellant to commit such a gruesome crime. There is some mention of a motive in the statement of the appellant recorded by the Police under Section 161 Cr.P.C., but no evidence thereof could be produced in court by the prosecution."
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