Court acquits man in illegal arms case, says no public witness

A Delhi court has acquitted a man of the charges of possessing a country-made pistol without any valid license, saying no public witness was associated with the probe and his false implication by the local police in the case could not be ruled out.
Metropolitan Magistrate Archana Beniwal let off Delhi resident Chaman Lal, while noting that "all witnesses produced by the prosecution are police personnels."
"In the absence of any independent witness having been joined in the investigation, false implication of the accused by the local police cannot be ruled out," the court said while acquitting Lal.
The court noted that despite the spot being a public place, no public person was made a part of the investigation and no notice was served on those who had refused to join the probe.

"The public persons present at/around the place of alleged recovery could have been easily joined in the proceedings of the present matter. The police personnel had ample time to make those independent persons understand the nature of proceedings and their role as a witness.
"The raiding party, however, failed to act prudently and join those independent public persons as witness to the proceedings of the matter. This leads to an adverse inference against the entire recovery," it said.
According to prosecution, Lal was apprehended by police near Lotus Temple here in May 2008 on secret information and a country-made pistol, along with two live cartridges were recovered from him. He was arrested and charged under the Arms Act.

Lal, however, pleaded not guilty and claimed trial, saying nothing was recovered from his possession.