AMRISH RANA Vs. STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted.

(2.) The appellant stands convicted under Section 307 and other provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) read with Section 25 of the Arms Act and sentenced for ten years along with fine and default stipulation.

(3.) Learned counsel for the appellant Shri Gaurav Agrawal submits that the testimony of PW11 Naresh Kumar, implicating the appellant is unreliable. The witness, in his court statement deposed that he knew the appellant from before as an inmate of the Kanda Jail. There was no animosity between them. Yet, the witness did not name the appellant in the FIR, and named accused Gurjant Singh alone, accompanied by four unknown persons. Despite claiming to know the appellant from before, the witness has made omnibus allegations of scuffle against the unknown accused. The first firing is attributed to Gurjant Singh and the second to an unknown assailant. Reliance was also placed on the crossexamination of the witness, inviting his attention to the contradictions between his statements under Section 161, Cr.P.C. and the deposition in the court. The presence of the appellant at the time of occurrence was therefore highly doubtful. The appellant is entitled to acquittal on the benefit of doubt.