In Brief
A police constable was convicted by the High Court of culpable homicide (Section 304 Part II IPC) for assaulting an Army Captain who subsequently died, after the trial court had acquitted him. The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's reversal of the acquittal. The evidence—comprising eyewitness testimony of a beat constable, the victim's dying declaration describing the assailant's distinctive clothing, and blood-stained clothes recovered from the appellant within hours matching the victim's blood group—established guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The trial court had unreasonably rejected crucial evidence. The Court held that appellate courts may reverse acquittals where the trial court's judgment suffers from perversity and causes miscarriage of justice. The appeal was dismissed and the appellant was ordered to surrender.
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