Kashmir Impulse Desk

Srinagar, June 2

The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has acquitted two people convicted in a 2013 murder case in Kulgam district, setting aside their life sentences after finding serious flaws and inconsistencies in the prosecution’s case.

A division bench comprising Sanjay Dhar and Sanjay Parihar overturned the conviction of Ali Muhammad Dar and Muzamilla, ruling that the evidence presented by the prosecution failed to establish their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

The case relates to the death of Abdul Rashid Dar of Modergam in Kulgam district, whose body was found hanging from a tree in an orchard on Dec. 21, 2013.

According to the prosecution, police initially received information about a suspicious death and, after conducting inquest proceedings, concluded that the victim had been murdered and later hanged to make the death appear to be a suicide.

Investigators alleged that Muzamilla, the deceased’s wife, and co-accused Ali Muhammad Dar were involved in an extramarital relationship and had conspired to kill him. The prosecution claimed the victim was administered sedative tablets, rendered unconscious, suffocated and subsequently hanged from a tree.

A trial court convicted the two accused and sentenced them to life imprisonment in July last year.

However, the High Court held that while the evidence indicated the deceased had met a homicidal death, the prosecution had failed to establish through reliable and admissible evidence that the accused were responsible for the crime.

The bench observed that the prosecution’s case relied heavily on disclosure statements allegedly made by the accused while in police custody. Once the inadmissible confessional portions of those statements were excluded, the remaining evidence did not form a complete chain linking the accused to the murder, the court said.

The court also identified deficiencies in the investigation, noting that items recovered during the probe, including a scarf, a glass and medicine strips, were seized from ordinary locations and were not supported by forensic evidence such as fingerprint analysis.

Medical evidence further weakened the prosecution’s case, the court said. Viscera examination did not reveal the presence of any sedative substance, while the doctor who conducted the post-mortem ruled out death by smothering and concluded that death resulted from dislocation of cervical vertebrae due to hanging.

The bench also noted there was no evidence placing Ali Muhammad Dar at the deceased’s residence on the night of the incident. The victim’s children, who were present in the house, did not state that they had seen him there, and the prosecution failed to produce any “last seen” evidence.

The court held that allegations of an extramarital relationship and call detail records could at most raise suspicion and were insufficient to sustain a conviction.

Reiterating the legal principle that suspicion, however strong, cannot replace proof beyond reasonable doubt, the bench said the trial court had placed undue reliance on disclosure statements while overlooking material contradictions and gaps in the prosecution’s case.

Concluding that the evidence suffered from serious infirmities and failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt, the High Court set aside the conviction and life sentences and ordered the release of both accused, unless required in any other case.