New Delhi, February 10 A Delhi court has acquitted two brothers accused of murdering a truck driver in Okhla in 2020, stating that the prosecution failed to prove their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Additional Sessions Judge Anuj Agrawal acquitted Rakesh Arora and Dheeraj Arora in a case registered under sections 302 (murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code, concerning the death of Krishan Kumar Meena, a truck driver from Rajasthan.
"The evidence on record raises serious and reasonable doubts, and the prosecution's case remains in the realm of suspicion rather than proof. Consequently, the accused are entitled to the benefit of doubt," the court said in its judgment issued on Monday.
According to the prosecution, Meena and his wife were searching for their missing son near Okhla on the intervening night of August 27 and 28, 2020.
Meena approached two individuals seeking help. An argument ensued after the two individuals responded rudely, which escalated to one person grabbing Meena while the other person assaulted him with a metal rod until he lost consciousness. Meena later succumbed to his injuries during treatment at Safdarjung Hospital.
During the trial, the prosecution examined 29 witnesses, including the deceased's wife, an alleged eyewitness, and a security guard posted near the spot.
However, the court noted that all material witnesses failed to identify the accused in court and contradicted their earlier statements.
The judge observed that the testimony of the eyewitness only established that an assault had taken place but did not connect the accused with the crime. None of the eyewitnesses could confirm the identity of the accused.
The deceased's wife even mentioned that she was illiterate and that the arrest memo and related documents were not read over to her before she bore her thumb impression, casting serious doubts on the veracity of her testimony.
"It is settled law that where the identity of the accused is in dispute, mere proof of an assault or homicidal death is insufficient to sustain a conviction," the court said.
The court also expressed doubt over the alleged recovery of the weapon of offence, noting that the independent witness to the recovery denied that the iron rod was recovered in his presence and stated that his signatures were taken on documents at the police station without being read over to him.
"Recovery evidence cannot fill the foundational gap left by the failure of eyewitnesses to identify the accused, especially in a case resting substantially on circumstantial evidence," the court said.
"In the totality of circumstances, while the prosecution has successfully established that the death of the victim was homicidal, it has miserably failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused were responsible for causing such death," the judge held while acquitting both men of all charges.