Abhishek Kumar @ Sonu v. State of Rajasthan, Through PP
2023-02-08
BIRENDRA KUMAR
body2023
DigiLaw.ai
ORDER 1. The petitioners are accused facing trial in FIR No. 439/2019 registered Police Station Hindaun City, corresponding to Criminal Case No. 1180/2019. 2. By the judgment dated 29/01/2021, the learned Trial Judge acquitted the petitioners of the charge under Section 498-A and 406 of IPC giving benefit of doubt. 3. It is worth to mention that the parties have entered into a compromise and the court below had already accepted compounding under Section 406 IPC, however, did not accept compromise of offence under Section 498-A of IPC. 4. No prosecution witness supported the prosecution case and all were declared hostile. 5. In the circumstance, according to learned counsel for petitioners, the petitioners should have been acquitted with honour and should not have been acquitted on 'benefit of doubt' as recorded by the learned Trial Judge. 6. I find force in the submission of learned counsel for the petitioners since there was no evidence, therefore, there was no question of only doubting the prosecution case. It was a case of clean acquittal in absence of evidence. 7. The judgment of acquittal on benefit of doubt could be recorded only when there is prosecution evidence in support of the charge and the prosecution evidence suffers from doubt. However, in cases where the prosecution evidence is nil in the sense that no prosecution witness turned up to say that he had witnessed the occurrence. In other words, the prosecution witnesses examined deposed that they does not know about the occurrence or had not seen the occurrence or turned hostile, the same would be a case of clean acquittal. 8. Since no appeal is maintainable at the hands of accused persons against the judgment of acquittal, the petitioner has knocked the jurisdiction of this court under Section 482 Cr.P.C. to prevent the miscarriage of justice. 9. Considering the facts of the case, the trial court judgment stands quashed and it is directed that the petitioners would be treated as acquitted with no stigma. 10. Accordingly, the petition stands allowed.