Setting aside a lower court judgment, the Delhi High Court has acquitted all five accused in a murder-cum-robbery case of 2000 at Okhla Phase-III in South-East Delhi.
The Delhi Police had charged the five accused -- Kali Ram, Krishnaveer, Jogender, Harender and Narender -- with committing robbery at a Ford Ikon car showroom and killing three staff members in the process. The trial court had sentenced the accused persons to life imprisonment.
While quashing the lower court judgment on appeals by them, a Division Bench of the Court comprising Justice Pradeep Nandarajog and Justice Suresh Kait held that the prosecution had not been able to prove any of the charges pertaining to recovery of the alleged robbed money, weapon of offence, car or blood-stained handkerchief against the accused persons.
The Bench said: “….We have no evidence whatsoever interlinking any of the accused save and except Krishanveer's knowledge that Harender was having an injury on his right palm. There is no evidence of the accused meeting each other.''
“The evidence against accused Harender … brings out no incriminating evidence against him as his blood group is A and the blood group detected on the handkerchief recovered from the scene of the crime is AB,'' the Bench said.
“As against accused Krishanveer, the only evidence which is incriminating against him pertains to the recovery of the country-made pistol at his instance and for which offence his conviction for the offence punishable under Section 27 of the Arms Act has to be sustained,” the judgment said. “Accused Narender and Kali Ram are also entitled to the benefit of doubt and…… Jogender too is entitled to be acquitted.''
