Court terms victim's dying declaration doubtful, acquits four

A court here has acquitted four men facing trial in a murder case observing that victim was not fit to make a dying declaration.

Additional Sessions Judge Dig Vinay Singh acquitted Prem Arora, Anil Kumar, Pankaj Goel and Rajesh Kumar who faced charges of murder, destruction of evidence, criminal conspiracy and common intention giving them benefit of doubt.

The prosecution has alleged that all of the accused has allegedly beaten Sachin Arora on April 14, 2007 at Prem Arora's office and he died during treatment at a hospital.

The court noted that the victim's brother has admitted that when they reached Mata Chanan Devi Hospital in west Delhi, Sachin Arora was already in intensive care unit (ICU).

A complaint was lodged by victim's brother in Hari Nagar police station in west Delhi.

The victim's brother has alleged that accused killed him over a financial dispute and claimed that the victim had told them about the incident in an oral dying declaration.

The court said that the dying declaration is doubtful.

"When none of the doctors deposed that Sachin was fit to give statement at the time when his brothers spoke to him in ICU, the dying declaration cannot be believed and acted upon," it said.

"It is needless to repeat that before a dying declaration can be acted upon, the court has to be absolutely sure that the dying declaration was indeed made and also that the person making dying declaration was fit to make a statement," said the court in its order delivered on Monday but released on Friday.

The court also noted that the post mortem report did not rule out the possibility of Sachin Arora having rolled down the stairs.

During the trial, accused had denied the allegations and claimed they were falsely implicated.