Can’t discard case in absence of independent witnesses: court

Refuses to set aside jail term awarded to phone snatcher

A case of the prosecution cannot be discarded if people are not willing to become witnesses, a Delhi court has said while refusing to set aside the jail term awarded to a man for snatching a woman’s mobile phone.

Additional Sessions Judge S.K. Sharma, while dismissing the appeal of the convict against a six-month jail term given to him for the offence under Sec 379 (theft) of the IPC, said that the trial court had already taken a lenient view regarding the quantum of sentence.

“The trial court has also taken very lenient view against the appellant regarding the quantum of sentence and therefore, the order on sentence does not require any interference by this court and the same is upheld,” the judge said.

‘Not fatal to case’

Rejecting the contention of the convict that the rickshaw puller in whose vehicle the victim was going home when the incident took place, was not examined during trial, the court said it was not fatal to the prosecution’s case.

“So far as joining the rickshaw puller in investigation and examining him in the court is concerned, it is not fatal to the prosecution case for the reason that independent witnesses are not agreeing to become witness. This cannot be a ground to discard the prosecution case,” it said.

The woman had boarded a rickshaw at New Ashok Nagar metro station on February 14, 2013, when convict Ravi Kumar suddenly snatched her mobile phone.