In Brief
Imran Afreen was convicted by the Sessions Court for murdering Lalit Mohan Rai with a firearm outside Hotel Shalimar on New Year's Eve 2005. The High Court acquitted him, citing defects in the prosecution's case including the absence of the recovered weapon matching ballistics and alleged inconsistencies in eyewitness testimony. The Supreme Court reversed the acquittal, holding that the eyewitness evidence of P.W. 1 and P.W. 2 was credible and truthful, internally consistent, and corroborated by lead bullets recovered from the deceased's body. The Court rejected technical criticisms and the ballistics discrepancy, reasoning that reliable ocular testimony cannot be discredited merely because the actual murder weapon was not recovered. The conviction under Section 302 IPC for murder was restored with life imprisonment.
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