December 12, 2000 : The Chhattisgarh High Court has set aside the conviction of a man found guilty of attempting to murder his father, ruling that the trial court’s findings were unsupported by reliable evidence. Justice R.S. Garg delivered the judgment while allowing the appeal filed by the accused, who had been sentenced to four years of rigorous imprisonment under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code.

The case arose from an incident on December 22, 1998, when the appellant allegedly struck his father, Singharam, on the head with a baton after a family dispute. The father sustained head injuries that doctors later described as dangerous to life. The police seized a baton, collected evidence from the scene, and filed a charge sheet. The trial court in Raigarh convicted the appellant based on that evidence.

On appeal, the High Court examined the testimony of witnesses and found that the prosecution had failed to establish its case. The supposed eyewitnesses, including the victim’s wife and son, did not support the prosecution. Roopan (P.W. 2) denied seeing the assault or knowing how his father was injured. Bhinsarin (P.W. 4), the victim’s wife and the accused’s mother, also did not confirm the incident, stating she was away doing labour work at the time. Other witnesses either provided procedural testimony or did not corroborate the prosecution’s narrative.

Justice Garg noted that the only witness who mentioned hearing about the incident, Udaydas (P.W. 3), gave hearsay evidence, which is inadmissible unless supported by direct testimony from the source of information. The court observed that while certain physical evidence—such as the recovery of a blood-stained baton and soil—showed that violence had occurred, it could not conclusively link the accused to the act.

In the absence of direct or credible circumstantial evidence, the High Court found the conviction to be “absolutely unjustified.” Justice Garg held that the trial court’s conclusions rested on conjecture rather than proof, and therefore quashed the conviction and sentence. The accused was acquitted of all charges and ordered to be released immediately unless required in any other case.

Case Reference : Criminal Appeal No. 751/2000, Lodhari Ram vs. State of M.P.