Court acquits four convicts 20 years after murder

The accused were released on bail during the trial. However,after being pronounced guilty by a sessions court on September 17,2004,they were lodged in prison.

The trial court had convicted the accused observing that they had given no reason for surrendering to the police when they should have in fact filed an anticipatory bail application. This inference of the subordinate court,Justice V M Kanade and Justice M L Tahaliyani observed,was “clearly erroneous and contrary to the settled position in law”.

The court noted in its judgment,“An inference about guilt of the appellants cannot be drawn merely because they had surrendered on their own since the burden is squarely on the prosecution to establish its case beyond reasonable doubt.”

The key prosecution witness in the case was assistant sub-inspector Wahid Khan,attached to the Traffic Control Branch. Khan was posted near the junction for patrolling as trade union leader Datta Samant,killed later in 1997,had called a strike on the day of the incident. Khan told the police that around 4:30 pm,he saw four men attacking Rane while he was 70 feet away. He claimed the accused fled as they saw him approaching.

The court,however,held that Khan’s statement cannot be trusted as he had given no description of them in his statement to the police. Also,the identification parade conducted on July 2,1989,was not according to the prescribed guidelines,the court said.

“The incident had taken place in broad daylight on a street in Mumbai. However,the prosecution has not examined any other eyewitness,” the court observed. Setting aside the order of the sessions court,the court ordered the release of the accused who have served over seven years in prison.