Delhi court acquits man of attempt to murder charges in 2021 case

New Delhi: A court here has acquitted a man in a 2021 attempt to murder case, saying in cases based on circumstantial and ocular evidence, the circumstances from which the conclusion of guilt is drawn should be fully proved.

Noting that the three eyewitnesses, including the injured victim, did not identify the accused as the assailant who had fired gunshots, the court said the accused's guilt was not proved beyond all reasonable doubt.

Additional Sessions Judge Ravindra Kumar Pandey was hearing the case against Chandan Kashyap alias Nimboo who along with his juvenile associate was accused of firing upon and grievously injuring Sanjeev on January 27, 2021, in south Delhi’s Dakshinpuri.

In an order passed on September 19, the court noted the victim's deposition that he was fired upon by the juvenile and his denial of the accused's presence on the spot. It also noted that the two eyewitnesses did not support the prosecution's case regarding Kashyap's identification.

It said that the prosecution failed to bring any incriminating evidence against the accused.

"In cases based on circumstantial evidence and ocular evidence, the circumstances from which the conclusion of guilt is drawn should be fully proved, and such circumstances must be conclusive," the bench noted "Moreover, all the circumstances should be complete, forming a chain and there should be no gap left in the chain of evidence. The various circumstances in the chain of events must be such to rule out the reasonable likelihood of innocence of the accused," the court said.

The court acquitted Kashyap, saying his guilt was not proved beyond all reasonable doubt.