In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court has overturned a previous conviction, highlighting critical flaws in the identification process of the accused. Justices B.R. Gavai and Sandeep Mehta presided over the bench, emphasizing the inadequacy of relying on witness identification at police stations as sufficient evidence for conviction.
The judgment, penned by Justice B.R. Gavai, scrutinized the case’s key witness, Anil Kumar (PW-8), the Investigating Officer, who admitted to the witness identifying the accused solely at the police station without any formal identification parade. Such a procedure cast significant doubt on the reliability of the witness’s identification, as acknowledged by the court.
Both the Trial Court and the High Court had previously convicted the accused based solely on the witness’s testimony, wherein he admitted to being shown the accused by the police before identification. However, the Supreme Court deemed this method inadequate and unreliable for establishing guilt.
In light of these findings, the appeal was granted, nullifying the previous judgment of both the trial court and the High Court. The accused were acquitted, emphasizing the importance of proper identification procedures in upholding justice.
Legal counsels representing the appellant(s) included Mr. T. N. Singh, AOR, Mr. Vikas Kumar Singh, Adv., and Ms. Rajshree Singh, Adv., while Mr. Harshad V. Hameed, AOR, Mr. Dileep Poolakkot, Adv., Mrs. Ashly Harshad, Adv., Mr. Shivam Sai, Adv., and Ms. Mansha Shukla, Adv., represented the respondent(s).
This ruling, in the case of Jafar versus State of Kerala, sets a precedent for the importance of fair and reliable identification procedures in the judicial system.
