A division bench of justices PV Hardas and Shalini Phansalkar-Joshi acquitted Tanaji Raut, Datta Gaikwad, Sani Shinde and Gorakh Jadhav. They were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in October 2006 for the murder of Babulji Jain, the owner of Vandana Jewellers in suburban Chembur.
The Bombay high court has acquitted four people sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, observing that the prosecution failed to prove motive behind the killing, which was entirely based on circumstance.
A division bench of justices PV Hardas and Shalini Phansalkar-Joshi acquitted Tanaji Raut, Datta Gaikwad, Sani Shinde and Gorakh Jadhav. They were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in October 2006 for the murder of Babulji Jain, the owner of Vandana Jewellers in suburban Chembur.
The bench observed: "The prosecution has utterly failed to establish any motive for the appellants to have committed the crime. The prosecution has not been able to place on record any evidence that the appellants bore some grudge against the deceased, or that the deceased had advanced any money to the appellants."
The HC was hearing an appeal filed by the four accused.
The judges also attributed their decision to there being a 'major flaw' in the prosecution case, saying: "The case against the appellants is based on circumstantial evidence. In such cases, motive as a circumstance assumes importance."
According to the prosecution, on February 28, 2004, the victim was found in a stolen Tata Sumo car at suburban Vikhroli with multiple stab wounds on his chest by a patrolling police van.
After investigation, the police arrested Tanaji after recovering his blood-stained shirt near the vehicle, and later arrested the three others.
After perusing the facts and circumstances of the case, the high court held that there was 'no evidence which would link the accused with the commission of the crime'.
The HC judges additionally held that although failure to establish motive by itself would not be fatal to the prosecution case, conviction can still be upheld only if the other evidence and circumstances 'unerringly establish guilt of the accused'.
While acquitting the four, and ordering for them to be released from jail, the judges opined: "Mere finding of a shirt near the scene of the incident, minus the other linked evidence, would not establish the involvement of the accused persons."
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