HC quashes man's acquittal for murder, awards him life term

The Bombay High Court has convicted and awarded life imprisonment to a 22-year-old man for murder after setting aside the verdict of a trial court which had acquitted him of the charge.
Observing that the trial court got itself swayed by some insignificant aspect to disbelieve the prosecution's case, the high court said the case has been proved beyond reasonable doubt.
"The approach adopted by the trial court in acquitting the respondent, therefore, is not a possible or reasonable view of the matter. It is perverse in the sense that evidence which is required to be given proper weightage is ignored and undue significance is given to insignificant matter", observed justices Vijaya Tahilramani and Shalini Phansalkar-Joshi.

"In the ultimate analysis, therefore, on re-appreciation of entire evidence on record, we have no hesitation in holding that the prosecution has succeeded in proving its case against the respondent beyond reasonable doubt," the Judges remarked in their judgement on August 3.
Setting aside the trial court's verdict, the judges convicted Surendra Ramchandra Mestri, a resident of Sawantwadi in Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra, on the charge of murdering his neighbour Dilip and awarded him life imprisonment. The HC also imposed on him fine of Rs 5000 and asked him to surrender before the authorities within six weeks.
Mestri was accused of stabbing to death Dilip for allegedly misbehaving with the former's close relative. The incident had occurred in the courtyard of Dilip's house two years ago.

The trial court had disbelieved the version of the victim's grandmother who had witnessed the fatal assault on Dilip by Mestry, in view of her old age.
However, the HC ruled that the grandmother's evidence that she had witnessed the actual assault cannot be disbelieved or brushed aside merely on the ground of her advanced age.
"The prosecution has also succeeded, in this case, in proving the motive or the cause of the incident," the judges noted while hearing the appeal filed by the prosecution challenging the acquittal of Mestry.