‘Witchcraft’ murder: Jharkhand High Court says ‘no true story’, acquits brothers 22 years after life term award

“The trend of evidence adduced in this case does not inspire confidence to reflect a truthful story. The involvement of the appellants is absolutely doubtful, and there is no material to prove the guilt of the appellants beyond all shadow of reasonable doubt. Mere silence of the accused or not offering any explanation is not sufficient to infer their guilt; rather, the rigour of law is against the prosecution to prove the guilt of the accused persons to the hilt,” the May 13 order read.

The Jharkhand High Court was hearing the appeal filed by the two brothers, Tarsius Sorang and Maryanus Sorang, challenging the trial court’s judgment dated January 19, 2004, and order of sentence dated January 21, 2004, by which they were convicted of murder and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life.

‘Eye-witnesses turned hostile’

• The Jharkhand High Court held that the trial court committed a serious error of law in appreciating the evidence of the witnesses and overlooked the material contradictions rendering the witnesses unreliable, and concluded on the guilt of the accused.
• It also found that both Sameer Lakra and Tintus Soren, who were allegedly with the victim immediately before the incident, did not support the prosecution’s case during the trial and were declared hostile.
• The bench also found inconsistencies in the statements of the victim’s family members, observing that they had no real occasion to see the accused fleeing from the spot as claimed later during evidence.
• The Jharkhand High Court held that the prosecution had failed to establish the guilt of the accused beyond a reasonable doubt and acquitted both brothers of the murder charge.

A visit, assault and death

• The case stems from the murder of a man called Alfosh Soren on November 2, 2000. The prosecution claimed that he went to the house of one Tintus Soren, where he was allegedly assaulted with a wooden log by accused Tarsius Soren and Mariyanus Soren.
• The motive behind the occurrence was alleged to be that the father and mother of the accused persons died, and they suspected some black magic was committed at the hands of the victim.
• According to the prosecution’s story, the victim was allegedly consuming “haria” (rice beer) with two men, Sameer Lakra and Tintus Soren, shortly before the alleged assault.
• Based on the information provided by the victim’s son, the informant, a First Information Report (FIR) was lodged on November 2 against the accused duo, and later a chargesheet was filed. Subsequently, the accused persons denied the charges.
• The trial court, after scrutinising the evidence placed on record, held the accused persons guilty of the offence under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and awarded them life imprisonment.

Arguments

Appearing for the duo, advocate A K Chaturvedi submitted before the Jharkhand High Court that there is no eyewitness to the occurrence. He added that the informant had initially claimed to have seen the accused persons fleeing after assaulting his father, but did not support the same version during the trial.

The defence further argued before the Jharkhand High Court that the two main witnesses present at the spot had turned hostile during the trial and that there was no reliable evidence connecting the accused to the murder.

On the other hand, special public prosecutor Vineet Kumar Vashistha argued that the trial court has very wisely and aptly analysed and appreciated the overall aspects of the case as well as the evidence of witnesses and arrived at the right conclusion.

He added that, therefore, there is no illegality or infirmity in the judgment of the trial court calling for any interference in this appeal, which is devoid of merit and fit to be dismissed.