Cuttack: The Orissa High Court has acquitted a man, who had been sentenced to imprisonment for life by a trial court for the murder of his adoptive parents in Khurda district 25 years ago.
While acquitting Prasanta Kumar Sahoo (now 65 years), the HC ruled that his mere presence in the house on the night of murder and subsequently going into hiding could not be the sole criteria of his guilt.
In its verdict pronounced on October 9, a division bench of Justices S K Sahoo and Chittaranjan Dash pulled up the trial court for relying on “surmise and conjecture” and convicting Prasanta despite the prosecution’s failure to prove the motive beyond doubt, TOI reported.
Jadu (75) and Pitei Sahu (65) were found murdered on the night of August 13, 1996 at Banchhara village under Jatni police station limits of Khurda district. Prasanta was convicted of murder by the Khurda sessions court on August 23, 2000. The couple, who was childless, had adopted Prasanta — son of Pitei’s sister — on February 1, 1993, and had executed a registered deed of adoption. Prasanta, who was 36-year-old at the time of murder, challenged his conviction in High Court in 2000.
After his release on bail in 2001, Prasanta has been living in Banchhara village with his wife and earning a living by giving tuitions to schoolchildren, said advocate Shasibhusan Das, who argued on his behalf in the HC.
As per the prosecution’s case before the trial court, the motive behind the killings was property dispute. However, the High Court found evidence against Prasanta to be insufficient and circumstantial.
“We are of the view that the circumstances have not been established with clinching evidence and the circumstances taken together do not form a complete chain. The motive behind the commission of the crime has not been proved by the prosecution,” the bench observed, while setting aside the trial court verdict.
Prasanta, who had initially fled after a second FIR was registered in the case, was arrested in 1998. He was tried along with his second wife Santilata, who was acquitted in 1999. Prasanta was convicted under Sections 302 (murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) of the IPC and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Referring to Prasanta’s behaviour following the murder, the high court said the conduct of the appellant after the occurrence was very natural and cannot lead to any inference of guilt. The inconsistent plea taken by the appellant coupled with his presence in the house in another room on the night of occurrence and his absconding after registration of the second FIR cannot be the sole factor to find him guilty of the offences charged.
