Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has acquitted a 25-year-old man who was convicted by a Sessions Court in 2014 on charges of murdering a man by stabbing him to death. While acquitting Ramesh Nishad, the court held that the case lacked evidence to establish the applicability of Section 34 (common intention ) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which holds all participants equally liable for a crime committed with common intention. The bench, comprising Justice Suman Shyam and Justice Shyam C. Chandak, ordered Nishad’s immediate release from Nashik prison.
Advocate A.Z. Mookhtiar appeared on behalf of the accused. The case involved two appeals challenging the trial court’s judgment dated August 2, 2014. The Sessions Court had convicted Nishad and another accused, Dattatray @ Bapya Anant Thorat, under Sections 302 (murder) and 394 (robbery) read with Section 34 of the IPC. Both were sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and seven years for robbery.
The prosecution’s case was based on witness testimony and the dying declaration of the deceased, Shammilan, brother of the first informant, Rammilan Yadav. According to the judgment, on May 6, 2010, Shammilan was assaulted while returning from a public lavatory. He ran to his room, shouting that “Bapya Thorat and his friend Topiwala” had stabbed him with a knife while attempting to snatch his wallet.
However, the High Court found no evidence proving that Nishad shared a “common intention” with Thorat to commit murder. While evidence supported that both men were involved in the robbery attempt, the court noted there was no proof Nishad knew Thorat had a knife or intended to use it to kill. The judgment stated, “The case lacks evidence for the interplay of Section 34 IPC to hold A-2 equally liable for the murder of the deceased.”
Ultimately, the court upheld Thorat’s conviction for both murder and robbery, dismissing his appeal. In Nishad’s case, the court partially allowed his appeal, setting aside the murder conviction and acquitting him of that charge. As Nishad had already served his full seven-year sentence for robbery, the court ordered his immediate release.
