Delhi court acquits man in brother’s murder, gives benefit of doubt

A Delhi court on Friday acquitted a man accused of murdering his younger brother in Nand Nagri in 2022, saying that the prosecution failed to prove the charge beyond reasonable doubt.

Additional Sessions Judge Kumar Rajat was hearing a case against Rohit, who was accused in a case registered under IPC Section 302, saying that key prosecution witnesses did not support the case during trial and failed to identify him as the assailant in court.

In an order dated April 24, the court said, “In the totality of the circumstances brought on record by way of evidence, it is observed that the prosecution has failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt against the accused Rohit qua offence punishable under Section 302 IPC”.

According to the prosecution, it was alleged that Rohit stabbed his brother, Yash, with scissors following an altercation at their residence on September 17, 2022. Yash was later declared brought dead at the hospital.

However, the court noted that the complainant and another eyewitness made material omissions, contradictions and improvements in their testimonies, making them unreliable witnesses. It was further observed that they failed to identify both the accused and the alleged weapon during the trial.

“Prosecution could not prove that the accused had caused any injury to the deceased Yash with the intention to kill him with scissors. Even the motive is not proven as PW1 (prosecution witness 1), and PW3 have denied that the accused killed Yash due to a property dispute,” the court said.

The court also expressed doubt over the recovery of the alleged weapon, stating that the scissors were recovered from a place accessible to the public and there was no independent witness, CCTV footage, videography or photography to support the recovery process.

“The prosecution has not laid the foundational facts to show that the accused had committed a crime against the deceased, so the defence of the accused is not material as the prosecution has to stand on its own legs,” the judge said.

Holding that suspicion cannot substitute proof, the court said the prosecution had failed to establish the case beyond a reasonable doubt and granted the accused the benefit of the doubt.

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