New Delhi, Jan 7 A Delhi court on Monday acquitted two men in a 26-year-old murder case, observing the prosecution failed to establish their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Additional Sessions Judge Deepak Wason acquitted Pappu Yadav and Sakinder Kumar of charges under sections 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), 174A (non-appearance in response to a proclamation) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.
The case related to the recovery of a highly decomposed body from a locked godown in Matiala area near Uttam Nagar in October 1999. The prosecution alleged that the deceased, Ram Swaroop, was murdered inside a plastic recycling unit allegedly run by Pappu Yadav.
The deceased's brother Chandu Yadav had stated in his complaint that Swaroop along with his brother-in-law Vijay had gone to Delhi to work at Pappu's plastic recycling unit. However, after about 25 days, both Pappu and Vijay returned to their native place along with other accused Sakinder Kumar and Montu Yadav but Swaroop was found missing.
According to the prosecution, Swaroop's body was found beneath a machine used for melting polythene bags, following complaints of foul smell emanating from the premises. The four accused were alleged to have absconded after the incident and were declared proclaimed offenders.
"It is evident that the prosecution has failed to discharge its burden of proving the charges against the accused beyond reasonable doubt. The absence of crucial evidence, coupled with inconsistencies in the testimonies of key witnesses, renders the case of prosecution unreliable and unworthy of reliance," the court said in its judgment dated January 5.
The court noted that several key prosecution witnesses either turned hostile or failed to support the prosecution version. It also took into account the long lapse of time, contradictions in testimonies, and the absence of reliable circumstantial evidence directly linking the accused to the crime.
"Additionally, the prosecution witnesses, apart from providing formal testimony, have not presented any substantial evidence to establish the guilt of the accused persons. Their testimonies primarily pertain to procedural aspects, such as the recovery of the body, the postmortem examination, and the investigative steps taken by the police. However, none of these elements conclusively link the accused persons to the commission of the offence", the court added.
The court also noted that one of the accused, Montu Yadav, had already been acquitted in the case in 2010, while proceedings against another accused Vijay Yadav remained pending as he remained absconding.
The matter was committed to trial in September 2024 following the arrest of Pappu and Sakinder after remaining on the run for two decades.
