Man, uncle held not guilty by HC in 23-yr-old murder

Evidence Quality More Important Than Quantity, Says Court

- Swati Deshpande

Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Wednesday acquitted two persons, including one who was a teen 23 years ago when booked for the murder of another young man inside an STD booth in Kolhapur. The judgment by a bench of Justice Sadhana Jadhav and Justice P K Chavan came 22 years after their conviction and order of life sentence.

The benefit of doubt must be given as the case fell in the “not proved” category under the Indian Evidence Act, said the high court.

The accused, aged 19 and 31 years old when convicted, filed the appeal in 2000. Both were granted bail — the teen on the grounds of his young age soon after he filed the appeal, said his lawyer Niranjan Mundargi. He has since been working.