Jammu- The High Court of J&K and Ladakh on Friday upheld acquittal of three persons in connection with a grenade attack which according to police was aimed at police picket manned by CRPF but exploded in an adjacent residential house, killing two minor kids and injuring their parents in Doda district in 2004.
Subsequent to the filing of chargesheet against the trio, the trial court—Additional Sessions Judge, Doda acquitted the trio of the charge under Section 302, 307, 34 RPC on 2 June 2010. The state had filed appeal against the acquittal and a bench of Justice Sanjeev Kumar and Justice Puneet Gupta dismissed it, observing that it was not the case for interference with the judgment of acquittal recorded by the trial Court.
“Needless to emphasize that the scope of interference with the judgment of acquittal in appeal is circumscribed and even if, on evaluation of the evidence on record, two views are possible, the Appellate Court would take the view that favours the accused,” the court said, adding, “It is cardinal principle of criminal jurisprudence that accused is presumed to be innocent unless proven guilty and this presumption gets fortified with the acquittal by the trial Court.”
According to the prosecution, on the fateful day some unknown militants had hurled an RPG on a police picket with a view to killing CRPF personnel. The RPG, however, missed the target and blasted in the house of one Mohammad Hanief due to which his two children, namely, Nassra Banu and Baber aged 1 ½ years and 9 years respectively were injured and succumbed to the injuries on spot, the prosecution said. Hanief’s wife, Shahida Begum, was seriously injured and taken to Thathri hospital for treatment. Hanief too, was injured in the incident and was taken for treatment to Kahara.
Police had subsequently filed the case— FIR No.80/2004— for offences under Sections 302, 307, 34, 109 RPC and 7/27 Arms Act in Police Station, Gandoh.
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