“Appellate Court cannot overturn the order of acquittal only on the ground that another view is possible,” Supreme Court
While setting aside the conviction of an accused for murder, in the Bhupatbhai Bachubhai Chavda & Anr. vs. State of Gujarat case, the Supreme Court (SC) held that an Appellate Court cannot overturn the order of acquittal only on the ground that another view is possible. The two-judge bench of the SC consisting of Justice Abhay S. Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan heard the matter on April 10, 2024. In this case, the appellants (father and son) were prosecuted for the offence punishable under Section 302, read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code. The allegation was that the appellants assaulted one Punjabhai (the deceased) with pipes and sticks. The deceased suffered a large number of injuries and ultimately succumbed to the injuries. The Sessions Court acquitted the appellants and the Gujarat High Court interfered and converted the acquittal of the appellants into a conviction for the offence punishable under IPC. The matter was further mentioned before the Supreme Court of India.
The SC bench observed, “The High Court ignored the well-settled principle that an order of acquittal further strengthens the presumption of innocence of the accused.” After having perused the judgment, the top court observed that the HC had not addressed itself on the main question. It also illustrated that the HC went to the extent of recording a finding that the appellants had failed to adduce evidence in their support, failed to examine the defence witness, and failed to establish the falsity of the prosecution's version. The bench said that such ‘a concept of burden of proof is entirely wrong’. The SC bench clarified “In a case where there is a statutory presumption, after the prosecution discharges initial burden, the burden of rebuttal may shift on the accused.” Therefore, the SC highlighted that in case of the absence of the statutory provisions, in this case, the burden was on the prosecution to prove the guilt of the accused beyond a reasonable doubt.
The SC also stated “It is true that while deciding an appeal against acquittal, the Appellate Court has to reappreciate the evidence. After re-appreciating the evidence, the first question that needs to be answered by the Appellate Court is whether the view taken by the Trial Court was a plausible view that could have been taken based on evidence on record.” It added, “Appellate Court can interfere with the order of acquittal only if it is satisfied after reappreciating the evidence that the only possible conclusion was that the guilt of the accused had been established beyond a reasonable doubt. The Appellate Court cannot overturn order of acquittal only on the ground that another view is possible.”
After hearing the matter, the SC concluded that there was no reason for the HC to overturn the order of acquittal when the findings of the Trial Court were possible findings that could be arrived at after reappreciating evidence. Therefore, the bench set aside the judgment and order of the Gujarat HC and set aside the conviction of the appellants as well as restored the order of the Trial Court.
