Holding

The Supreme Court held that the trial court's acquittal was correct and the High Court's reversal was unsustainable, thereby restoring the acquittal.

Summary

Ghurey Lal was tried for murder under IPC s.302 and related offences. The trial court acquitted him, finding that the prosecution's version of a single shot causing both a bullet wound to the deceased and pellet injuries to a witness was implausible, based on medical and ballistic expert testimony that two different firearms were used. The High Court reversed the acquittal, holding the trial court’s view was perverse. On appeal, the Supreme Court examined the scope of appellate powers under s.378 CrPC and reiterated that an acquittal can be disturbed only for "very substantial and compelling reasons". It held that the trial court’s reasoning was plausible, the benefit of doubt was rightly given, and the High Court’s reversal was unsustainable. Consequently, the appeal was allowed and the High Court judgment set aside, restoring the acquittal.

Issues considered

The scope of appellate power under s.378 CrPC to interfere with a trial court's acquittal.
Whether the prosecution proved the charge beyond reasonable doubt given the ballistic evidence that a cartridge cannot contain both bullet and pellet.
The appropriate standard ("very substantial and compelling reasons") for overturning an acquittal.
The application of the presumption of innocence and the benefit of doubt in appellate review.

Legislation cited

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973s. 313, s. 378, s. 386, s. 417, s. 418, s. 423
Indian Penal Code, 1860s. 302, s. 307, s. 323, s. 324

Subjects

appeal against acquittalpresumption of innocencebenefit of doubtballistic evidencefirearm injuriesappellate court powersCrPC s.378IPC s.302criminal jurisprudence

Judgment

[2008] 11 S.C.R. 499
...._,.
GHUREY LAL A
v.
STATE OF U.P.
(Criminal Appeal No. 155 of 2006)
JULY 30, 2008
8
.....,., [R.V. RAVEENDRAN AND DALVEER BHANDARI, JJ]

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973:
Chapter XXX - Appeals - Powers of appellate courts -
HELO: Appellate courts have wide and extensive powers of c
re-appreciating and re-evaluating the entire evidence, but the
same must be used with great care and caution - Principles
emerging from decisions of Supreme Court culled out.
s.378 - Appeal against acquittal - Power of appellate
D
court - HELD: Appellate court would be justified in interfering
with judgment of acquittal only when the same is palpably
wrong, totally ill-founded or wholly misconceived, based on
erroneous analysis of evidence and non-existent material,
demonstrably unsustainable or perverse - Judgment of trial
Court analyzing the infirmities in prosecution case acquitting E
accused of the charge uls 302 /PC giving him benefit of doubt,
is correct and is based on the fundamental principles of crimi-
nal jurisprudence - Judgment of High Court being wholly un-
sustainable is set aside - Principles crystallized by decisions
of Supreme Court set out - Penal Code, 1860 - s. 302. F
-~
Medical Jurisprudence:
Fire arm injuries - Prosecution case of bullet injury to
deceased and pellet injuries to a witness by a single gunshot
- HELD: It is well settled that a cartridge cannot contain pet- G
lets and bullet together - Injuries on deceased and the wit-
ness clearly establish that two shots were fired from two differ-
ent fire arms - Penal Code, 1860 - s. 302.

499 H
500 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 11 S.C.R. ..., ___
A The accused-appellant was prosecuted for commis-
sion of offences punishable u/s 302 IPC and 307 IPC. The
prosecution case was that there. was enmity between the
accused and the deceased due to a property dispute. On
the day of the incident when the deceased and PWs 1,2
B and 4 alongwith two others were on their way home, they
happened to pass by the home of the accused who was
standing outside his house with a gun. The accused
abused the deceased and fired a shot as a result of which
the latter died at the spot and PW 2 received pellet inju-
c ries. The defence version u/s 313 of the Code of Criminal
Procedure, 1973 was that on the day of the incident. the
accused came to know in the local market that the de-
ceased and PWs 2,4 and two others armed with 'pharsa',
'lathis' and 'cattas' were looking for him. He returned to
his home and grabbed his gun. Meanwhile the deceased
D
and others reached there. One of them fired from his 'catta'
causing pellet injuries to PW 2. In the scuffle they tried to
snatch away his gun which accidentally fired and hit the
deceased. The trial court acquitted the accused, but on
appEtal by the State, the High Court convicted him u/s 302
E IPC.

In the instant appeal filed by the accused it was con-
tended for the appellant that the judgment of the trial court
was based on correct evaluation of the evidence and the
F High Court was not justified in interfering with the same.
~-
Allowing the appeal, the Court
HELD: 1. So far as the prosecution case of bullet in-
jury to the deceased and pellet injuries to PW-2 by a single
shot is concerned, according to the trial court, .the medi-
G
cal evidence coupled with the Ballistic Expert Report re-
vealed that two shots were fired from two weapons and
~
this fact was inconsistent with prosecution story. The
Ballastic Expert opined that the injuries to PW-2 were from
a different shot than the one that killed the deceased. The
H
GHUREY LAL v. STATE OF U.P. 501

,.._""
Ballistic Expert is a disinterested, independent witness A
who has technical knowledge and experience. It follows
that the trial judge was fully justified in placing reliance
on his report. It is well settled that a cartridge cannot con-
tain pellet and bullet shots together. Therefore, the inju-
ries on the deceased and injured P.W. 2 clearly establish B
""'( that two shots were fired from two different fire arms. [para
16,17,21, 29 and 40] [510-0,E,F,G, 511-G, 516-0, 521-E]
"Principles of Forensic Medicine" by Apurba Nandy;
and "Firearms in Criminal Investigation and Trials" by
Dr. B.R. Sharma - referred to. c
2.1 The appellate court undoubtedly has wide and
extensive powers of re-appreciating and re-evaluating the
entire evidence, but the same must be used with great
care and caution. The appellate court would be justified
D
in interfering with the judgment of acquittal only when the
same is palpably wrong, totally ill-founded or wholly mis-
conceived, based on erroneous analysis of evidence and
non-existent material, demonstrably unsustainable or per-
verse. [para 45 and 74] [523-8,C, 540-8]
E
2.2 On marshalling the entire evidence and the docu-
ments on record, the view taken by the trial court is cer-
tainly a possible and plausible view. The settled legal po-
sition is that if the trial court's view is possible and plau-
sible, the High Court should not substitute the same. by F
..-·~
its own possible views. The difference in treatment of the
case by two courts below is particularly noticeable in the
manner in which they have dealt with the prosecution evi-
dence. While the trial court took great pains in discuss-
ing all important material aspects and to record its opin-
G

.,
ion on every material and relevant point, the High Court
has reversed the judgment of the trial court without plac-
ing the very substantial reasons in support of its conclu-
sion. The trial court after marshalling the evidence on
record came to the conclusion that there were serious
H
502 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008) 11 S.C.R.

A infirmities in the prosecution story. The findings of the
trial court are based on the fundamental principles of the
criminal jurisprudence. The trial court carefully scrutinized
the entire evidence and documents on record and arrived
at the correct conclusion, and following the settled prin-
B ciples of law, it gave the benefit of doubt to the accused. ·
The High Court totally ignored the settled legal position
and the reasoning given by it for overturning the judg-
ment of the trial court is wholly unsustainable. [para 75
and 76] [540-D,E,F,G,H, 541-A]
C 2.3 The trial court categorically came to the finding
that when the substratum of the evidence of the prosecu-
tion witnesses was false, then the prosecution case has
to be discarded. When the trial court finds serious infir-
mities in the prosecution version, then the trial court was
D virtually left with no choice but to give benefit of doubt to
the accused according to the settled principles of crimi-
nal jurisprudence. The trial court has the advantage of . >-
watching the demeanour of the witnesses who have given
evidence; therefore, the appellate court should be slow
E to interfere with the decisions of the trial court. An acquit-
tal by the trial court should not be interfered with unless
it is totally perverse or wholly unsustainable. [para 77 and
78] [541-B,C,D,E]
3.1 As regards the powers of the appellate court, the
F following principles emerge from the cases decided by
this Court:
(a) The appellate court may review the evidence in
appeals against acquittal under sections 378 and 386 of
G the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973. Its power of review-
ing evidence is wide; it can re-appreciate the entire evi-
dence on record; it can review the trial court's conclu-
sion with respect to both facts and law.
(b) The accused is presumed innocent until proven
H guilty. The accused possessed this presumption when
GHUREY LAL v. STATE OF U.P. 503
~-,,.

he was before the trial court. The trial court's acquittal bol- A
sters the presumption that he is innocent.
(c) Due or proper weight and consideration must be
given to the trial court's decision. This is especially true
when a witness' credibility is at issue. It is not enough for
.. 'f the High Court to take a different view of the evidence . s,
There must also be substantial and compelling reasons
for holding that trial court was wrong. [para 72] [538-E,F,
G,H, 539-A]
3.2 The High Courts and other appellate courts c
should follow the well settled. principles crystallized by
number of. judgments if it is going to overrule or other-
wise disturb the order of acquittal passed by the trial
court.
(a) The appellate court may reverse or otherwise dis- D
turb the order of acquittal passed by trial court only if it has
"very substantial and compelling reasons" for doing so.
A number of instances arise in which the appellate
court would have "very substantial and compelling rea-
sons" to discard the trial court's decision. "Very substan- E
tial and compelling reasons" exist when:
i) the trial court's conclusion with regard to the facts
is palpably wrong;
ii) the trial court's decision was based on an errone- F
~ -<(
ous view of law;
iii) the trial court's judgment is likely to result in "grave
miscarriage of justice";
iv) the entire approach of the trial court in dealing G
with the evidence was patently illegal;
--...,, v) the trial court's judgment was manifestly unjust
and unreasonable;
vi) the trial court has ignored the evidence or mis- H
504 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 11 S.C.R.

A read the material evidence or has ignored material docu-
ments like dying declarations/ report of the Ballistic Ex-
pert, etc.
This list is intended to be illustrative, not exhaustive.
B (b) The appellate court must always give proper
weight and consideration to the findings of the trial court. y~

(c) If two rl?!asonable views can be reached - one that
leads to acquittal, the other to conviction - the High
Courts/appellate courts must rule in favour of the accused.
C [para 73] [539-B,C,D,E,F,G, 540-A,B]
Surajpal Singh& Others v. State AIR 1952 SC 52; Madan
Mohan Singh v. State of Uttar Pradesh AIR 1954 SC 637;
Alley v. State of UP. AIR 1955 SC 807; Aher Raja Khima v.
State of Saurashtra AIR 1956 SC 217; Balbir Singh v. State of
0
Punjab AIR 1957 SC 216; M. G. Agarwal v. State of
Maharashtra A!R 1963 SC 200; Umedbhai Jadavbhai v. The
State of Gujarat (1978) 1 SCC 228; B.N. Mutto & Another v.
Dr. T K. Nandi (1979) 1 SCC 361; Tota Singh & Another v. r
I
E State of Punjab (1987) 2 SCC 529; Ram Kumar v. State of
Haryana 1995 Supp. (1) SCC 248; Sambasivan & Others v.
State of Kera/a (1998) 5 SCC 412; Bhagwan Singh & Others
v. State of M.P. (2002) 4 SCC 85; Harijana Thirupala & Oth-
ers v. Public Prosecutor, High Court of A.P, Hyderabad (2002)
6 SCC 470; C. Antony v. K. G Raghavan Nair (2003) 1 SCC
F 1; State of Karnataka v. K. Gopalkrishna (2005) 9 SCC 291;
The State of Goa v. Sanjay Thakran (2007) 3 SCC 755; Staie
of Rajasthan v. Raja Ram (2003) 8 SCC 180 - relied on.
Sheo Swarup v. King Emperor AIR 1934 Privy Council
G 227; Tulsiram Kanu v. The State AIR 1954 SC 1; Noor Khan
v. State o,t Rajasthan AIR 1964 SC 286; Khedu Mohton & Oth-
ers v. State of Bihar (1970) 2 SCC 450; Shivaji Sahabrao
Bobade & Another v. State of Maharashtra (1973) 2 SCC 793; . 1-'
Lekha Yadav v. State of Bihar (1973) 2 SCC 424; Khem Karan
H & Others v. State ofU.P &Another AIR 1974SC1567; Bishan
--t GHUREY LAL v. STATE OF U.P. 505;

Iii-)'
i
Singh & Others v. The State of Punjab (1974) 3 SCC 288 ;! A
Madan Lal v. State of J&K (1997) 7 SCC 677; and
Chandrappa & Others v. State of Karnataka (2007) 4 SCC
415 - referred to.
Case Law Reference:

... AIR 1934 Privy Council 227 referred to
AIR 1952 SC 52 relied on.
para 45
para 46
B

AIR 1954 SC 637 relied on para 49
AIR 1955 SC 807 relied on. para 50
AIR 1956 SC 217 relied on. para 51 c
AIR 1957 SC 216 relied on para 52
AIR 1.963 SC 200 relied on. para 53
AIR 1964 SC 286 referred to para 54
(1970) 2 $CC 450 referred to para 55 D
(1973) 2 sec 793 referred to para 56
_.. (1973) 2 sec 424 referred to para 57
AIR 1974 SC 1567 referred to para 58,
(1974) 3 sec 288 referred to para 59.i
E
(1978) 1 sec 228 relied on. para 60
(1979) 1 sec 361 relied on para 61
(1987) 2 sec 529 relied on para 62
. 1995 Supp. (1) sec 248 relied on para 63
I
(1997) 1 sec 677 referred to para 64 F
. _.... (1998) 5 sec 412 relied on para 65 .
(2002) 4 sec 85 relied on para 66
(2002) 6 sec 470 relied on para 67
(2003) 1 sec 1 relied on para 68 G
(2005) 9 sec 291 relied on para 69
.. ..,. c2001) 3 sec 755 relied on para 70
(2003) a sec 1ao relied on para 70
(2001) 4 sec 415 referred to para 71 H
506 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 11 S.C.R.
,..I
.,,........
A CRIMINALAPPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal
No. 155 of 2006
f.
From the final Judgment and Order dated 11.11.2005 of
the High Court of Allahabad in Government Appeal No. 365 of
1981
B
)
Sushil Kumar, G.C. Tyagi, Mukesh Tyagi, Kailash Pandey,
Varinder Kumar Sharma and Aaditya Kumar for the Appellant.
r
Ratnakar Das, Vikas Bansal and Anuvrat Sharma for the
Respondent. ' ~

c •
The Judgment cf the Court was delivered by j

DALVEER BHANDARI, J. 1. This appeal is directed
against the judgment of the High Court of Allahabad dated 11th
November, 2005 passed in Criminal Appeal No. 365 of 1981.
D
2. This is a murder case in which the trial court acquitted
the accused. The High Court reversed the trial court's decision,
' finding the accused guilty. In doing so, the appellate court failed
>-
.~
to give proper weight to the views of the trial court as to cred-
ibility of witnesses, thereby ignoring the standards by which the
E
appellate courts consider appeals against acquittals.
3. We have endeavoured to set out the guidelines for the
appellate courts in dealing with appeals against acquittal. An
overriding theme emanates from the ·1aw on appeals against
F acquittals. The appellate court is given wide powers to review
the evidence to come to its own conclusions. But this power
must be exercised with great care and caution. In order to en-
~ ....
sure that the innocents are not punished, the appellate court
should attach due weight to the lower court's acquittal because
G the presumption of innocence is further strengthened by the
acquittal. The appellate court should, therefore, reverse an ac- i
,_r
quittal only when it has "very substantial and compelling rea-
sons." --r- /
4. In giving our reasons for reversing the appellate court's
H judgment and restoring that of the trial court, we provide a brief
GHUREY LAL v. STATE OF U.P. 507
..... .,. [DALVEER BHANDARI, J.]

review of the facts, the reasoning of the trial and High Court as A
well as the standards by which appeals against acquittals are
reviewed according to settled principles of criminal jurisprudence

• in our country.
5. Before turning to the facts that were before the trial cou.rt,
we note that there is an interesting coincidence in this case. B

""'" The names of both the accused and the deceased are Ghurey
Lal. Therefore, to avoid confusion, we have referred to them as
"accused" and "deceased."
6. Brief facts, according to prosecution, which are neces- c
sary to dispose of this appeal are recapitulated as under:-
It appears that at the heart of this matter lies a property
dispute. The accused testified in favour of his great-grand
daughter, Ram Devi. This testimony went against the deceased,
creating enmity between the parties. D
7. On 14.3.1979, the deceased, Shiv Charan P.W.1, Brij
Raj Singh P.W.2, Yad Ram P.W.4, Nathi Lal (not examined) and
Bishambhar (not examined) had taken the customary Gur
(Jaggery) during the Holi festival.
E
8. On their way home, they happened to pass by the home
of the accused. The accused was standing just outside his home
and was holding a shot gun. The accused began to verbally
abuse the deceased. Thereafter, the accused fired one single
shot from his gun, killing the deceased with a bullet and caus- F
,,.. ..., ing injuries to Brij Raj Singh P.W. 2 with pellets. Hearing the gun
shot, some people quickly assembled at the scene. The ac-
cused fled to his room, which he locked from inside. The uncle
of the deceased, Shiv Charan, lodged the FIR that very evening,
the 141h March, 1979 at 6.15 p.m., at the Barhan Police Station
G
in the District of Agra.
"- ~ 9. The accused provided his own version of the event.
According to the statement of the accused under section 313
of the Code of Criminal Procedure, he went to the place of
Kanchan Singh where Gur (Jaggery) was being distributed. One H
508 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 11 S.C.R.

A Bal Mukand told the accused to leave the Gur distribution cer-
emony, as the deceased, Brij Raj Singh P.W. 2, Yad Ram P.W.4,
Nathi Lal and Bishambhar had collected pharsa, lath is and kattas
declaring that they wBI deal with him (accused) when he comes
there. On hearing this, the accused returned to his home and
B grabbed his gun. The deceased and others then arrived· at his
.
home, brandishing weapons. The deceased carried a pharsa,
Nathi Lal had a katta, Brij Raj Singh a knife and Yad Ram and
Bishambhar possessed lath is. To threaten and check them, the
accused aimed his gun at them ..This was to no avail. The de-
e ceased and others struck at the accused, hitting his gun. Nathi
Lal fired his katta, causing pellet injuries to Brij Raj Singh P.W.2.
·A scuffle ensued in which the deceased's group tried to snatch
away his gun. In the scuffle, the gun was accidentally fired, kill-
ing the deceased. The accused sustained pharsa and lathi
D blows on the butt and barrel of the gun. Fearing for his life, the
accused went to his room and locked the door from inside.
10. Brij Raj Singh P.W. 2 was sent to the Government Hos-
pital, Barhan for medical examination. Dr. Govind PrasadP.\fV.3
found the following injuries on the person of Brij Raj Singh, P.W.
E 2:
. 1.. Round lacerated wound 0.3 cm x 0.3- cm on right
side back 10 ems away from rnid line 9 ems below
border of scapula. Margins burnt and inverted, and
tattooing present in an area of 5 ems. No pellets
F palpable. Bleeding present.
2. Lac!=!rated wound of exit 1.5 cm x 0.5 cm on right
side back 0.8 cm away and lateral from injury no. 1.
Skin burnt and tattooing present in the area of 5 cm
x 5 ems. Merging of the wound inverted. No pellets
G ..
palpable. ·
.
11. The Doctor opined that the injuries were caused by a "f' -r
firearm. He advised that X-rays be taken and that the injuries be
kept in observation. In his opinion, the injuries were caused by
H a gun shot and were of fresh duration. In his opinion, the injuries
GHUREY LAL v. STATE OF U.P. 509
[DALVEER BHANDARI, J.]

could have been caused around 4 p.m. The doctor sent the A
memo Ex. Ka-4 on the same day, informing the case of Medico
legal nature to the Barhan Police Station.
12. The autopsy on the deceased was conducted by Dr.
Ram Kumar Gupta, P.W.5, Medical Officer, SNM Hospital,
Firozabad, District Agra. It revealed the following ante-mortem B
injuries on the deceased:
1. · Gun shot wound of entry 2.5 cm x 2.5 cm x through
and through on right side neck 2 cm lateral to mid line
of neck front aspect. c
2. Gun shot wound of exit 5 cm x 4 cm x through and
through on right side back of neck 5 cm below right
ear corresponding to injury no. 1 with margins averted.
The Doctor opined that the cause of death was due to D
shock and hemorrhage as a result of ante-mortem injury.
13. The prosecution examined Shiv Charan P.W.1, Brij Raj
Singh P.W.2 and Yad Ram P.W.4 as eye witnesses of the oc-
currence. Dr. Govind Prasad P.W.3, Medical Officer In-charge,
who had medically examined Brij Raj Singh, proved the injury E
report Ext. Ka 3. Dr. Ram Kumar Gupta P.W. 5, who had con-
ducted autopsy on the dead body of the deceased, was also
(
examined. On internal examination, he found semi digested
food material in the small intestine and there was faecal matter
present in the large intestines. He prepared the post-mortem F
report Ex. Ka-5. In his opinion, the death of the deceased had
taken place around 4 p.m. on 14.3.79 on account of the said
injuries and shock.
14. The accused was charged with killing the deceased
under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (For short, IPC) G
and with causing simple injuries to the injured under section
323 IPC. He was also charged with attempting to murder Brij
Raj under section 307 IPC. The accused appellant denied the
charges, pleaded not guilty and asked to be tried.
H
~

510 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 11 S.C.R.
~·-'-.'
't.

A 15. The crucial question which arose for consideration was
whether the injuries caused to Brij Raj Singh P.W.2 could have
been caused by the same shot that killed the deceased. If that
I
.,
was possible, the prosecution version became probable. But if
the shot that killed the deceased and the shot that caused inju-
B ries to Brij Raj Singh were from different weapons, then the ..,. -i
. defence version was more probable. Shri B. Rai, Ballistic Ex-
pert, Forensic Science Laboratory, U.P. was called as court
witness No.1. He was asked to explain the nature of the 12
bore cartridges and give an opinion, for which he wanted time
c to carry out experiments in the laboratory. The gun was given to ~
him and he performed a test in his laboratory in the light of the
statements of the eye-witnesses, medical report and site-plan.
He submitted his report, Ex. C-Ka.1, wherein he clearly opined ~
I
that injuries Nos. 1 and 2 of the deceased were possible by the
gun Ex.3 of the accused and injuries Nos.1 and 2 of the injured
D
Brij Raj Singh were possible by another fire. By "fire", it is clear
from the record that the Ballistic Expert was referring to a "fire-
arm".
16. Ultimately, we must answer the following question:
E Whether the prosecution story of a single shot causing injury to
two persons, that is bullet injury to deceased and pellet injury to
1-
Brij Raj Singh, with the accused as the aggressor, stands suffi-
ciently proved beyond reasonable doubt?
17. In order to decide whether a single shot was fired or in
F fact two different shots were fired, we must carefully examine
the versions of the prosecution and the defence and the report ~ --
of the Ballistic Expert. According to the trial court, the medical
evidence coupled with the Ballistic Expert report revealed the
existence of two fires from two weapons and as such was in-
G consistent with the prosecution story. The trial court further pro- ,--
vided that it is difficult to separate falsehood from the truth, as
some material aspects of the occurrence appeared to have been ...,.
deliberately withheld. "One has to separate the chaff from the
grain and it is difficult to lay hand upon what part of the prosecu-
H tion evidence is true and what part is untrue". According to the

I
I
GHUREY LAL v. STATE OF U.P. 511
[DALVEER BHANDARI, J.]

accused, the trial court had taken a reasonable and possible A
view of the entire evidence on record.
18. The post-mortem report Ex. Ka-5, photo lash Ex. Ka-
7 and the statement of Dr. Ram Kumar Gupta P.W.5 indicate
that the wound of entry was on the right side of the neck 2 cm.
lateral middle line on front aspect. The exit wound was on the 8
right side back of neck 5 cm. below the right ear. This means

-
that the bullet had entered from the front side of the neck from a
distance of 2 cm. lateral to middle line, and it had come out
from the back of the neck at a place 5 cm. below the right ear. In
this way, the trial court reasoned that the barrel of the gun, when C
discharging, was slanting vertical. The mouth of the barrel was
upward and its butt downward. The barrel and the butt were not
horizontal to the ground at that time.
19. The trial court observed that injury no. 1 (wound of entry)
0
on Brij Raj Singh P.W.2 was on the right side of his back 10 cm.
away from the mid line, 9 ems. below the lower border of scapula.
Injury no. 2 (wound of exit) was on the right side of his back 8 cm.
away and lateral from injury no.1. This means that the exit wound
was by the side of the entry wound at a distance of 8 cm.
E
20. The dictionary meaning of 'lateral' is "by the side" and
this means that the two injuries caused by pellets to Brij Raj
Singh P.W.2 were horizontal and not vertical. The trial court
opined that the single shot could not have caused vertical injury
to one person and horizontal injury to another. It found it doubtful F
,.., ~ and not sufficiently proved that the same shot could have in-
jured Brij Raj Singh and killed the deceased.
21. This conclusion is further fortified by the report. of the
Ballistic Expert Sri B. Rai court witness No.1. He has given a
definite opinion after making actual experiments by firing shots. G
This was done from the distance at which the occurrence was
said to have taken place. The eye-witnesses had testified to
this distance. The Ballistic Expert opined that the injuries to Brij
Raj Singh P.W.2 were from a different shot from the one that
killed the deceased. H
512 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 11 S.C.R.
·~·~

A 22. The relevant part of the evidence of the Ballistic Ex-
pert reads as under:
"2. Question- Whether bullet and Chharras both be used
in 12 bore gun or not?

B. Ans.-12 bore gun have no bullet. It has small chharas, big ..,..~

chharas or one single ball shot with diameter about 0645."
23. The Ballistic Expert after studying the post-mortem
~
report observed as under:

c "Studying the Post rylortem report No. 51/79 of deceased
Ghurey Lal and injury report of Brijraj Singh dated 14:3.79,
statement of doctor and witnesses and site plan and
keeping the result of above experiments in mind, I reached
in conclusion that injury No. 1 and 2 possible to sustain to
deceased Ghurey Lal by this gun from the distance of _10
D
feet and injury No. 1 and 2 of injured Brij Raj Singh seems
to sustain by some other shot."
24. The Ballistic Expert categorically stated that in car-
tridges of standard 12 bore shot guns, bullets from other rifles
E cannot be used with small and big chharas (pellets). Therefore,
the trial court concluded that both the injuries were not possible
by a single firearm .
. 25. Leading experts of forensic science, particularly bal-
iistic experts, do not indicate that from a single cartridge both
F bullets and pellets can be fired. Professor Apurba Nandy in his
book "Principles of Forensic Medicine", first published in 1995 )c: - -
and reprinted in 2001, discussed cartridges. Professor Nandy
mentioned that in some cases, instead of multiple pellets, a
single shot or metallic ball, usually made of lead, is used. We
G . note that the discussion regarding cartridges exclusively men-
tions pellets. No mention of bullets and pellets in cartridges is
found in the numerous volumes of scholarly literature thatwe ~ ·,

have consulted. Relevant discussion reads as under: p. 241
"The Cartridges (the ammunitions)-
H
GHUREY LAL v. STATE OF U.P. 513
[DALVEER BHANDARI, J.]
0

The cartridge of a shotgun and the cartridge of a rifled A
weapon are essentially different in their makes.
The cartridge of a shot gun - (Fig. 10.69)
The cartridge of a shotgun has the following parts and
contents- B
•· 'f
1. The ·cartridge case - The longer anterior part of the
cartridge case is made of card board. The posterior part
and the posterior surface is made of brass. The margin of
the breach end of the cartridge case is rimmed, so that,
the cartridge can be properly placed inside the chamber c
. and with pressure on the rim the empty cartridge case can
be easily ejected out of the chamber. The anterior margin
of the cartridge case is twisted inward to keep the pellets
and other materials inside the case compact. The anterior
part of the cartridge case is made of cardboard, for which, D
--"' with production of gas inside the cartridge case it can
slightly expand so that, the twisted grip by the anterior
margin will be released and the pellets can come out of
the case. The posterior metallic part keeps the shape of
the breach end of the cartridge intact. It helps to maintain E
the right position of the cartridge in the chamber, so that,
the percussion pin of the hammer strikes the percussion
cap rightly at the breach surface of the cartridge. At the
central part at the breach end inside the cartridge case is
the percussion cap.
F
mr-~
2. The percussion cap - It contains primer or priming
mixture and there are some vents or openings on the wall
of the percussion cap. When the posterior surface of the
percussion cap is struck by the percussion pin, the priming
mixture which consists of a mixture either of mercury G
fulminate, pot, pot, chlorate.and antimony sulphide or of
~ antimony sulphide with lead styphnate, lead peroxide,
barium nitrate or tetracene, gets ignited due to the pressure
and friction and fire comes out through the vents or
openings on the wall of the percussion cap. H
514 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 11 S.C.R.

0
A 3. Contents inside the cartridge case. Surrounding the
percussion cap is the gun powder or the propellant charge
which cannot ignite by.pressure or friction and which on
being ignited does not produce flame but produces huge
amount of gas. Usually the gunpowder of the shotguns
B contains charcoal, pot, nitrate and sulphur. This combination
of the gunpowder is known as black powder, as it produce ,.- .
much smoke. Now-a-days semi smokeless gun powder
is in use in shot guns which is a combination of 80% of
black powder and 20% of smokeless powder. Smokeless
c powder is ordinarily used in the cartridges of rifles
(nitrocellulose or a combination of nitrocellulose and
nitroglycerine). The black powder produces 200 - 300 ml.
of gas per grain. In front of the gunpowder, inside the
cartridge case, there is a thin cardboard disc. In front of
the cardboard, disc is placed the wad. The wad is made
D
of soft substance like, felt, cork, straw or rug. In front of the
wad, there is another card board disc. In front of this disc,
the pellets are placed. The pellets are spherical projectiles
used in shot guns. Their size may be variable, according
to the need and make. One ounce of pellets may consist
E of 6 to 2,600 of them. In front of the pellets there is another
cardboard disc on the anterior margin of which the anterior
margin of the cartridge case is twisted. The functions of
the wad are to give compactness to the gunpowder, to
prevent admixture of propellant charge and the pellets
F and prevent leakage of the gas produced after the firing.
Wad also cleans the inner surface of the barrel after the ,..111
pellets pass out through the barrel. To facilitate this
cleaning, some greasy material is soaked in the wad. In
between the propellant charge and the wad there is a
G cardboard disc so that the greasy substance in the wad
will not be soaked by the propellant charge and become
useless. In between the wad and the pellets there is a disc
"f' - .
which in one hand prevents impregnation of the pellets in
the soft wad and on the other, preventR leakage of the
H greasy substance from the wad in the pellets which would
GHUREY LAL v·. STATE OF U.P. 515
[DALVEER BHANDARI, J.]

otherwise become adhesive to each other loosing their A
dispersion capacity. The anterior - most disc, placed in
front of the pellets, give compactness to the pellets and
the whole content of the cartridge case.
Shots of different sizes are suitable for different purposes.
Accordingly "Buck shots" or "Bird shots" have different 8
sized shots or pellets for hunting wild birds or other prey.
In some cases instead of multiple pellets a single hot or
metallic ball, usually made up of lead, is used. "Rifled
slugs" are single shot projectiles for shot guns with c
prominent parallel grooves on the surface."
26. In this book, the assessment of the direction of firing
from the margin of the wound of entrance has also been given,
which reads thus: p. 257
D
"Assessment of the direction of firing from the margin of
the wound of entrance -
(i) (a) In case of shotgun injury, the pattern of dispersion
... of the pellets give the direction of the firing. The pellets
disperse over wider area as it travels more. Hence E
firing is suspected to have been from the side

- opposite to the side of wider dispersion of the pellets.
"
27. "Firearms in Criminal Investigation and Trials" was
written by a distinguished professor Dr. B.R. Sharma. He has F
written in some detail about 12 bore guns. This book also de-
fines Pellet Pattern which reads thus: p.204
"Pellet Pattern
The area covered (pellet spread) by the pellets fired from G
a shotgun is proportional to the distance between the
muzzle of the firearm and the target. Greater the range,
greater is the area covered by the pellets. The spread of
the pellets is affected mainly by the length of the barrel of
the firearm and its muzzle characteristics (whether it is H
516 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 11 S.C.R.

A choked or not). The condition of the ammunition also
affects the results. If experiments are performed with the
same firearm and ammunition of the same make and
batch, the test patterns provide fairly accurate estimates
of the range.
B Generally, the whole charge enters the body en masse up
to a range of about two metres in a factory-made 12-bore
shotgun. It forms a rat-hole of about two to six centimetres
in diameter. The rat-hole is surrounded by individual holes
when the range of fire is about two to seven metres ... "
c
28. The trial court stated that in the FIR itself it is men-
tioned that the injuries to Brij Raj Singh were by pellets and that
of the deceased by a bullet. The Ballistic Expert has st~ted that
the cartridge containing pellets cannot contain a bullet. Accard-
o ingly, the trial court reasoned that two weapons were used.
29. The Ballistic Expert is a disinterested, independent
witness who has technical knowledge and experience. It fol-
lows that the trial judge was fully justified in placing reliance on
his report.
E 30. The trial court also observed that removing the body
of the deceased from the place of occurrence creates doubt
that the prosecution was planning to substitute another story for •
the real facts. As such, the possibility that the deceased and his
group were the aggressors is not ruled out. It is possible that
F pharsa and lathi blows had made the marks that were found on
the gun. The gun may have snatched all of a sudden, causing it
to fire upon the deceased and Brij Raj. Under the circumstances
of the case, the use of another weapon, which had caused inju-
ries to Brij Raj Singh P.W.2, is also not ruled out.
G
31. The trial court further observed that the substratum of
the prosecution story about the injuries to Brij Raj Singh is not
established beyond reasonable doubt and the story of shoot-
ing the deceased by the same shot fired by the accused is not
separable from other doubtful evidence of eye-witnesses. The
H
GHUREY LAL v. STATE OF U.P. 517
[DALVEER BHANDARI, J.]

circumstances show that the possibility of aggression on the A
part of the complainant side is not ruled out, then the benefit of
doubt for killing the deceased by the accused would also go to
the accused.
32. The trial court also found force in the plea of right of
private defence as set up by the accused. The trial court men- 8
tioned that there is force in this argument where the circumstances
of the case show that two fire arms were used in the occurrence.
The accused was all alone in his house at that time. The avail-
ability of a second weapon is possible only when the complain-
ant side had brought it to the scene. This circumstance support$ C ·
the defence case, that the complainants' side was the aggressor
and they had come armed with weapons to the scene. It follows
that the accused would apprehend grievous hurt and danger to
his life. Accordingly, the right of self defence was open to him.
D
33. In the concluding paragraph of the judgment, the trial
court ·observed that when neither the prosecution nor the de-
fence version is complete, then it is obvious that both the par-

- ties are withholding some information from the court. The bur-
den of proving the charge to the hilt lies upon the prosecution. It
has failed to discharge its burden. Thus, the benefit has to go to E
the accused. According to the trial court, the accused could not
•.... be convicted for the charges framed against him . .He was en-
titled to get the benefit of doubt and, consequently, the accused
had to be acquitted of the charges under sections 302, 307
and 323 IPC. F
34. The State, aggrieved by the trial court's judgment, pre-
ferred an appeal before the High Court.
35. The High Court' in appeal re-appreciated the entire
evidence and came to the conclusion that the trial court's judg- G
ment was perverse and unsustainable. It therefore set aside
~ ,.. the trial court judgment and convicted the accused under sec-
tion 302 IPC for the murder of the deceased and under section
324 IPC for injuring Brij Raj Singh and sentenced him to life
imprisonment and for six months R. I. respectively. H
·'

518 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008) 11 S.C.R.

~ ...
A 36. Against the impugned judgment of the High Court, the
accused appellant has preferred appeal to this court. We have
been called upon to decide whether the trial court judgment was
perverse and the High Court was justified in setting aside the
same or whether the impugned judgment is unsustainable and
B against the settled legal position?
y..-
37. We deem it appropriate to deal with the main reasons
by which the trial court was compelled to pass the order of ac-
._
quittal and the main reasons of the High Court in reversing the

c
judgment of the trial court. .
'
MAIN REASONS FOR ACQUITTAL BY THE TRIAL
COURT
38. The trial court acquitted the accused for the following
reasons:
D
1. The prosecution story of single shot injury to two
persons one standing horizontally and the other ;......
vertically stands totally discredited by the medical
and the evidence of Ballistic Expert.
...
E 2. According to the FIR, the deceased received a
spherical ball (ball shot) bullet injury and Brij Raj Singh
P.W.2 received pellet injuries. The accused's guri .,.
,;
had a cartridge that could only contain pellets. The
Ballistic Expert has clearly stated that a cartridge
'
I

F containing pellets cannot contain a bullet. As such, it
appears that two weapons were used. x -'f-
3. Dr. Ram Kumar Gupta, P.W.5 who conducted the
post-mortem of the deceased, clearly stated that the
deceased received injuries from a bullet whereas
G Dr. Govind Prasad Bakara who had examined Brijraj
Singh P.W.2 clearly stated that both injuries were
caused by a pellet. '?" -+
Therefore, according to medical evidence coupled
with the evidence of the Ballistic Expert, two firearms
1-:1
GHUREY LAL v. STATE .OF U.P. 519
>--f [DALVEER BHANDARI, J.]

must have been used. This version is quite A
inconsistent with the prosecution story.
4. The injuries received by Brij Raj Singh P.W.2 were
from the back side and the injury received by the
deceased was from the front side and this shows
... 'f that two weapons may have been used . B

5. Removal of the body of the deceased from the place
~ of occurrence also created doubt with regard to the
veracity of the prosecution version.

6. The possibility that the deceased and the c
complainant's side were aggressors and had gone
there and caused pharsa and lathi blows on the
accused cannot be ruled out because of the marks on
the gun Ex.3. That the said gun was fired in snatching
all of a sudden, injuring the deceased also cannot be D
ruled out from the circumstances of the case.
7. The trial court did not discard the defence version of
right of private defence as pleaded by the accused.
8. The trial court observed that it is difficult to separate E
falsehood from the truth, where some material
aspects of the occurrence seem to have been
deliberately withheld. It is a well-established principle
of criminal jurisprudence that when two possible and

. ""·
plausible explanations co-exist, the explanation
favourable to the accused should be adopted .
MAIN REASONS FOR REVERSAL OF ACQUITTAL
F

ORDER:
39. The High Court gave the following reasons for setting
G
aside the acquittal:
~ ,_ 1. A perusal of the post-mortem report goes to show
that autopsy conducted on the dead body of the
deceased 1cvealed ante-mortem gunshot wound of
entry 2.5 cm x through and through on right side neck H
520 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 11 S.C.R. ,,.,
~

A 2 cm lateral to midline of neck front aspect having .J

corresponding wound of exit 5 cm x 4 cm on right
side back of neck 5 cm below right ear. Therefore,
this injury was almost horizontal. ·
2. Medical examination of injured Brij Raj Singh
B revealed a round lacerated wound of entry 0.3 cm x r..,
0.5 cm on right side back 10 cm away from mid line
and 9 cm below lower border of scapula having wound .J
of exit 1.5 cm x 0.5 cm x 0.5 on right side back 0.8 i
cm away and lateral from injury no. 1. Thus, this injury
c was also almost horizontal.
3. The observation made by the trial judge that firearm
injury caused to the deceased was vertical and to
that of Brij Raj Singh horizontal is wholly fallacious.
D 4. A layman does not understand the distinction between
a cartridge containing pellets and the bullet. In
common parlance, particularly in villages when a
person sustains injuries by gun shot, it is said that he
has received 'goli' injury. Ghurey Lal fired at his uncle
E with his gun causing him Goli (bullet) injury and Brij
Raj Singh also received pellet (chhara) injury which >-
goes to show that injuries received by them were '
caused by two different weapons. There is hardly
r-
any difference between bullet and pellet for a layman.
F From 12 bore gun cartridge is fired and 12 bore
cartridge always contain pellets though size of pellets x -t'
may be different.
5. A perusal of the post-mortem reports goes to show
that autopsy conducted on the dead body of the
G deceased revealed ante-mortem gun shot wound of
entry 2.5 ems. through and through on right side neck
2 cm lateral to midline of neck front aspect having r. ~
corresponding wound of exit 5 cm x 4cm on right
side back of neck 5 crn below right ear. Therefore,
H this injury was almost horizontal.
... _..
6.
GHUREY LAL v. STATE OF U.P.
[DALVEER BHANDARI, J.]

The medical examination of injured Brij Raj Singh
521

A
revealed a round lacerated wound of entry 0.3 cm x
0.5 cm on right side back 10 cm away from midline
and 9 cm below lower border of scapula having wound
of exit 1.5 cm x 0.5 cm x 0.5 cm on right side back
0.8 cm away and lateral from injury no.1. Thus, this B
~ 'f
injury was also almost horizontal.

7. The learned trial jwdge had noted the evidence of B.
Rai, Ballistic Expert, C.W.1 that both the injuries would.
have been caused by two shots. While B. Rai, Ballistic
Expert, C.W.1 had given the said opinion, he had c
also stated in his cross-examination by the
prosecution that if the assailant fired from place 'C'
and the person receiving pellet injury standing at
place 'B' would have turned around, on dispersal of
pellets he could have received the pellet injuries if D
_. deceased and injured both would have stood in the
same line of firing.
OUR CONCLUSIONS:
40. We disagree with the High Court. Admittedly, the de- E
ceased died of a bullet injury whereas Brij Raj Singh, P.W. 2
received pellet injuries. It is well settled that a cartridge ·cannot
contain pellet and bullet shots together. Therefore, the injuries
on deceased and injured P.W. 2 clearly establish that two shots
were fired from two different fire arms. F
I ; ""' 41. The High Court also observed that the laymen, mean-
ing thereby the villagers, hardly know the difference between a
bullet and a pellet. This finding has no basis, particularly in view
of the statement of all the witnesses on record. Wherever the
"
....;
. witnesses wanted to use 'bullet' they have clearly used 'Gali' or G
'bullet' and wherever they wanted to use 'pellet' they have clearly
,.,, ..,. used the word 'Chharra' which means pellets, so to say that the

....
......
witnesses did not understand the distinction between the two is
without any basis or fc;,.mdation .
H
(
522 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 11 S.C.R.
t-
~--
A 42. Mr. Sushi! Kumar, learned senior advocate appearing ~

for the appellant, submitted that the judgment of the trial court
was based on the correct evaluation of the evidence and the
view taken by the trial court was definitely a reasonable and
plausible. Therefore, according to the settled legal position, the
B High Court was not justified in interfering with the judgment of )' ,,,...
the trial court.
~
43. Shri Ratnakar Das, learned senior advocate appear-
ing for the respondent State submitted that the impugned order
of the High Court is consistent with the settled legal position. He
c submitted that once an order of acquittal is challenged then the
appellate court has a~I the powers which are exercised by the
trial court. We agree that the appellate court is fully empowered
to re-appreciate and re-evaluate the entire evidence on record.
44. We deem it appropriate to deal with some of the im-
D
portant cases which have been dealt with under the 1898 Code
by the Privy Council and by this Court. We would like to crystal- >--
lize the legal position in the hope that the appellate courts do
not commit similar lapses upon dealing with future judgments
of acquittal.
E
45. The earliest case that dealt with the controversy in is-
sue was Shea Swarup v. King Emperor AIR 1934 Privy Coun-
cil 227. In this case, the ambit and scope of the powers of the
-,. I-

appellate court in dealing with an appeal against acquittal has
F been aptly elucidated by the Privy Council. Lord Russell writing
the judgment has observed as under: (at p. 230): ~
'I
".. the High Court should and will always give proper weight
and consideration to such matters as (1) the views of the
trial Judge as to the credibility of the witnesses, (2) the ~

G presumption of innocence in favour of the accused, a ~

presumption certainly not weakened by the fact that he
has been acquitted at his trial, (3) the right of the accused
to the benefit of any doubt, and (4) the slowness of an
.,.- - "
/:.
appellate court in disturbing a finding of fact arrived at by ~

H a Judge who had the advantage of seeing the witnesses .. "

'
GHUREY LAL v. STATE OF U.P. 523

...... [DALVEER BHANDARI, J.]

The law succinctly crystallized in this case has been con- A
sistently followed by this Court. On proper analysis of the ratio
and findings of this case, it is revealed that the findings of the
trial court are based on the fundamental principles of the crimi-
nal jurisprudence. Presumption of innocence in favour of the

... ., accused further gets reinforced and strengthened by the ac- B
quittal of the trial court. The appellate court undoubtedly has
wide powers of re-appreciating and re-evaluating the entire evi-
dence but it would be justified in interfering with the judgment of
acquittal only when the judgment of the trial court is palpably
wrong, totally ill-founded or wholly misconceived, based on er- c
roneous analysis of evidence and non-existent material, demon-
strably unsustainable or perverse.

.., 46. This Court again in the case of Surajpal Singh & 0th-
ers v. State, AIR 1952 SC 52, has spelt out the powers of the
High Court. The Court has also cautioned the Appellate Courts D
to follow well established norms while dealing with appeals from
~ acquittal by the trial court. The Court observed as under:
"It is well established that in an appeal under S. 417
Criminal P.C., the High Court has full power to review the
evidence upon which the order of acquittal was founded, E
but it is equally well-settled that the presumption of
innocence of the accused was further reinforced by his
acquittal by the trial court, and the findings of the trial court
which had the advantage of seeing the witnesses and
hearing their evidence can be reversed only for very F
~ .. substantial and compelling reasons."
47. This Court reiterated the principles and observed that
presumption of innocence of accused is reinforced by an order
of the acquittal. The appellate court could have interfered only
G
for very..substantial and compelling reasons.

.,, 48. In Tulsiram Kanu v. The State, AIR 1954 SC 1, this
~
Court explicated that the appellate court would be justified in
reversing the acquittal only when very substantial question and
compelling reasons are present. In this case, the Court used a H
524 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 11 S.C.R.
1.-

)k . .
A different phrase to describe the approach of an appellate court
against an order of acquittal. There, the Sessions Court ex-
pressed that there was clearly reasonable doubt in respect of
the guilt of the accused on the evidence put before it. Kania,
C.J., observed that it required good and sufficiently cogent rea-
8 sons to overcome such reasonable doubt before the appellate
court came to a different conclusion.
49. In the same year, this Court had an occasion to deal
with Madan Mohan Singh v. State of Uttar Pradesh, AIR 1954 .
SC 637, wherein it said that the High Court had not kept the
C rules and principles of administration of criminal justice clearly
before it and that therefore the judgment was vitiated by non-
advertence to and mis-appreciation of various material facts I
transpiring in evidence. The High Court failed to give due weight
and consideration to the findings upon which the trial court based
D its decision. \
50. The same principle has bee.n followed in Alley v. State
of U.P AIR 1955 SC 807 (at pp. 809-10 para 5), wherein the
Court said:

E "It has been laid down by this Court that it is open to the
High Court on an appeal against an order of acquittal to
review the entire evidence and to come to ·its own
conclusion, of course, keeping in view the well established
rule that the presumption of innocence of the accused is
F not weakened but strengthened by the judgmentof acquittal
passed by the trial court which had the advantage of
observing the demeanour of witnesses whose evidence
have been recorded in its presence.
If is also well settled that the court of appeal has as wide i
t
G powers of appreciation of evidence in an appeal against .. 't
an order of acquittal as in the case of an appeal against
an order of conviction, subject to the riders that the t'
presumption of innocence with which the accused person
starts in the trial court continues even up to the appellate
H stage and that the appellate court should attach due weight
~ GHUREY LAL v. STATE OF U.P. 525
[DALVEER BHANDARI, J.]
~.~

to the opinion of the trial court which recorded the order of A
acquittal."
51. The question was again raised prominently in Aher
Raja Khima v. State of Saurashtra AIR 1956 SC 217. Bose, J.

.
expressing the majority view observed (at p.220):
-,, B
' "It is, in our opinion, well settled that it is not enough for the
High Court to take a different view of the evidence; there
must also be substantial and compelling reasons for
holding that the trial court was wrong; Ajmer Singh v. State
of Punjab (AIR 1953 SC 76, at pp.77-78); and if the trial c
Court takes a reasonable view of the facts of the case,
interference under S. 417 is not justifiable unless there
are really strong reasons for reversing that view. Surajpal
Singh v. State AIR 1952 SC 52 at 54."
52. In Balbir Singh v. State of Punjab AIR 1957 SC 216, D
-~ this Court again had an occasion to examine the same propo-
sition of law. The Court (at page 222) observed as under:
"It is now well settled that though the High Court has full
power to review the evidence upon which an order of
acquittal is founded, it is equally well settled that the
E
presumption of innocence of the accused person is further
reinforced by his acquittal by the trial Court and the views
of the trial Judge as to the credibility of the witnesses must
be given proper weight and consideration; and the
.., slowness of an appellate Court in disturbing a finding of F
"' fact arrived at by a Judge who had the advantage of seeing
the witnesses must also be kept in mind, and there must
be substantial and compelling reasons for the appellate
Court to come to a conclusion different from that of the
trial Judge." G

- 't
53. A Constitution Bench of this Court in M. G Agarwal v.
State of Maharashtra AIR 1963 SC 200, observed as under:
"There is no doubt that the power conferred by clause (a)
which deals with an appeal against an order of acquittal H
526 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 11 S.C.R. p

-1- ......
A is as wide as the power conferred by clause (b) which
deals with an appeal against an order of conviction, and
so, it is obvious that the High Court's powers in dealing
with criminal appeals are equally wide whether the appeal
in question is one against acquittal or against conviction.
B That is one aspect of the question. The other aspect of the
y _,,
question ce_ntres round the approach which the High Court
adopts in dealing with appeals against orders of acquittal.
In dealing with such appeals, the High Court naturally bears
r
in mind the presumption of innocence in favour of an
\

c accused person and cannot lose sight of the fact that the ~

said presumption is strengthened by the order of acquittal
passed in his favour by the trial Court and so, the fact that
the accused person is entitled for the benefit of a
reasonable doubt will always be present in the mind of the
High Court when it deals with the merits of the case. As an
D
appellate Court the High Court is generally slow in
disturbing the finding of fact recorded by the trial Court, ~-
particularly when the said finding is based on an
appreciation of oral evidence because the trial Court has
the advantage of watching the demeanour of the witnesses
E who have given evidence. Thus, though the powers of the
)--

·High Court in dealing with an appeal against acquittal are
as wide as those which it has in dealing with an appeal

-
against conviction, in dealing with the former class of
appeals, its approach is governed by the overriding
F consideration flowing from the presumption of innocence.
).-

The test suggested by the expression "substantial and
compelling reasons" should not be construed as a formula
which has to be rigidly applied in every case, and so, it is
G /'-
not necessary that before reversing a judgment of acquittal,
the High Court must necessarily characterize the findings
recorded therein as perverse. '1' ..
The question which the Supreme Court has to ask itself,
H in appeals against conviction by the High Court in such a
GHUREY LAL v. STATE OF U.P. 527
[DALVEER BHANDARI, J.]
......
case, is whether on the material produced by the A
prosecution, the High Court was justified in reaching the
conclusion that the prosecution case against the appellants
had been proved beyond a reasonable doubt, and that
the contrary view taken by the trial Court was erroneous.

• --. In answering this question, the Supreme Court would, no
doubt, consider the salient and broad features of the
evidence in order to appreciate the grievance made by
B

the appellants against the conclusions of the High Court."

54. In Noor Khan v. State of Rajasthan, AIR 1964 SC 286,
this Court relied on the principles of law enunciated by the Privy c
· Council in Shea Swarup (supra) and observed thus:
"" "Sections 417, 418 and 423 give to the High Court full
power to review at large the evidence upon which the
order of acquittal was founded, and to reach the conclusion
D
that upon that evidence the order of acquittal should be
-~
reversed. But in exercising the power conferred by the
Code and before reaching its conclusions upon fact, the
High Court should and will always give proper weight and
consideration to such matters as (1) the views of the trial
Judg,e as to the credibility of the witnesses; (2) the E
presumption of innocence in favour of the accused, a
presumption not weakened by the fact that he has been
acquitted at his trial; (3) the right of the accused to the

.. .
benefit of any doubt; and (4) the slowness of an appellate
Court in disturbing a finding of fact arrived at by a Judge F
who had the advantage of seeing the witnesses."

55. In Khedu Mohton & Others v. State of Bihar, (1970) 2
· SCC 450, this Court gave the appellate court broad guidelines
as to when it could properly disturb an acquittal. The Court ob-
G
served as under:

"3. It is true that the powers of the High Court in considering
- ., the evidence on record in appeals under S~ction 417, Cr.
P.C. are as extensive as its powers in appeals against
convictions but that court at the same time should bear in H
528 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 11 S.C.R.

'+- ~
A mind the presumption of-innocence of accused persons
which presumption is not weakened by their acquittal. It
must also bear in mind the fact that the appellate judge
had found them not guilty. Unless the conclusions reached
by him are palpably wrong or based on erroneous view of
B the law or that his decision is likely to result in grave
injustice, the High Court should be reluctant to interfere
with his conclusions. If two reasonable conclusions can
be reached on the basis of the evidence on record then
the view in support of the acquittal of the accused should
c be preferred. The fact that the High Court is inclined to
take a different view of the evidence on record is not
sufficient to interfere with the order of acquittal."
"
(emphasis supplied)
56. In Shivaji Sahabrao Bobade & Another v. State of
D
Maharashtra, (1973) 2 SCC 793, the Court observed thus:
"An appellant aggrieved by the overturning of his acquittal >---
deserves the final court's deeper concern on fundamental
principles of criminal justice ......
E
........ But we hasten to add even here that, although the
learned judges of the High Court have not expressly stated
_ so, they have been at pains to dwell at length on all the
points relied on by the trial court as favourable to the

F
prisoners for the good reason that they wanted to be
satisfied in their conscience whether there was credible
testimony warranting, on a fair consideration, a reversal
of the acquittal registered by the court below. In law there
are no fetters on the plenary power of the Appellate Court
.,
to review the whole evidence on which the order of acquittal
G is founded and, indeed, it has a duty to scrutinise the
probative material de novo, informed, however, by the
weighty thought that the rebuttable inn,ocence attributed to,
the accused having been converted into an acquittal the
..,. -
homage our jurisprudence owes to individual liberty
H constrains the higher court not to upset the holding without
GHUREY LAL v. STATE OF U.P. 529
.. ..... [DALVEER BHANDARI, J.]

very convincing reasons and comprehensive A
consideration, In our view the High Court's judgment
survives this exacting standard."
57. In Lekha Yadav v. State of Bihar (1973) 2 SCC 424,
the Court following th.e case of Sheo Swarup (supra) again re-
) ... iterated the legal position as under: B
"The different phraseology used in the judgments of this
Court such as-
(a) substantial and compelling reasons:
c
(b) good and sufficiently cogent reasons;
(c) strong reasons.
are not intended to curtail the undoubted power of an
appellate court in an appeal against acquittal to review
0
the entire evidence and to come to its own conclusion, but
in doing so it should not only consider every matter on
record having a bearing on the questions of fact and the
reasons given by the court below in support of its order of
acquittal but should express the reasons in its judgment
which led it to hold that the acquittal was not justified." E
,,
58. In Khem Karan & Others v. State of UP & Another
AIR 1974 SC 1567, this Court observed:
"Neither mere possibilities nor remote possibilities nor
mere doubts which are not reasonable can, without danger F
to the administration of justice, be the foundation of the ,
acquittal of an accused person, if there is otherwise fairly
credible testimony."
59. In Bishan Singh & Others v. The State of Punjab G
(1974) 3 SCC 288, Justice Khanna speaking for the Court pro-
vided the legal position:
"22. It is well settled that the High Court in appeal under
Section 417 of the CrPC has full power to review at large
the evidence on which the order of acquittal was founded H
530 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 11 S.C.R.

A and to reach the conclusion that upon the evidence the
order of acquittal should be reversed. No limitation should
be placed upon that power unless is be found expressly
stated be in the Code, but in exercising the power
conferred by the Code and before reaching its conclusion
B upon fact the High Court should give proper weight and
consideration to such matters as (1) the views of the trial
judge as to the credibility of the witnesses; (2) the
presumption of innocence in favour of the accused, a
presumption certainly not weakened by the fact that he
c has been acquitted at his trial; (3) the right of the accused
to the benefit of any doubt; & (4) the slowness of an
appellate court in disturbing a finding of fact arrived at by
a judge who had the advantage of seeing the witnesses."
60. In Umedbhai Jadavbhai v. The State of Gujarat (1978)
D 1 SCC 228, the Court observed thus:
"In an appeal against acquittal, the High Court would not .>--
ordinarily interfere with the Trial Court's conclusion unless
there are compelling reasons to do so inter alia on account
of manifest errors of law or of fact resulting in miscarriage
E of justice."
61. In B.N. Mutto & Another v. Dr. TK. Nandi (1979) 1
SCC 361, the Court observed thus:
"It stems out of the fundamental principle of our criminal
F jurisprudence that the accused is entitled to the benefit of
any reasonable doubt. If two reasonably probable and
evenly balanced views of the evidence are possible, one
must necessarily concede the existence of a reasonable
doubt. But, fanciful and remote possibilities must be left
G out of account. To entitle an accused person to the benefit
of a doubt arising from the ~ossibility of a duality of views,
the possible view in favour of the accused must be as
T .
nearly reasonably probable as that against him. If the
preponderance of probability is all one way, a bare
.H possibility of another view will not entitle the accused to
GHUREY LAL v. STATE OF U.P. 531
[DALVEER BHANDARI, J.) ·
..... .A.
claim the benefit of any doubt. It is, therefore, essential A
that any view of the evidence in favour of the accused
must be reasonable even as any doubt, the benefit of
which an accused person may claim, must be reasonable.
"A reasonable doubt", it has been remarked, "does not
mean some light, airy, insubstantial doubt that may flit B
- ... ~ through the minds of any of us about almost anything at
some time or other, it does not mean a doubt begotten by
~
sympathy out of reluctance to convict; it means a real doubt,
a doubt founded upon reasons. [Salmond J. in his charge
to the jury in R. V Fantle reported in 1959 Criminal Law c
Review 584.}"
[emphasis supplied]
62. In Tota Singh & Another v. State of Punjab (1987) 2
SCC 529, the Court reiterated the same principle in the follow-
D
ing words:
---'.
"This Court has repeatedly pointed out that the mere fact
that the appellate court is inclined on a re-appreciation of
the evidence to reach a conclusion which is at variance
with the one recorded in the order of acquittal passed by E
the court below will not constitute a valid and sufficient
ground for setting aside the acquittal. The jurisdiction of
the appellate court in dealing with an appeal against an
order of acquittal is circumscribed by the limitation that no
interference is to be made with the order of acquittal unless F

-- Ai, the approach made by the lower court to the consideration
of the evidence in the case is vitiated by some manifest
illegality or the conclusion recorded by the court below is
such which could not have been possibly arrived at by any
court acting reasonably and judiciously and is, therefore,
G
liable to be characterised as perverse. Where two views
are possible on an appraisal of the evidence adduced in
-.,, the case and the court below has taken a view which is
a plausible one, the appellate court cannot legally
interfere with an order of acquittal even if it is of the opinion
H
532 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 11 S.C.R.

A that the view taken by the court below on its consideration
of the evidence is erroneous." ·
(emphasis supplied)
63. In Ram Kumar v. State of Haryana 1995 Supp. (1)
s sec 248, this Court had another occasion to deal with a case
. where the court dealt with the powers of the High Court in ap-
peal from acquittal. The Court observed as under:
".. the High Court should not have interfered with the order
of acquittal merely because another view on an appraisal
c of the evidence on record was possible. In this connection
it may be pointed out that the powers of the High Court in
an appeal from order of acquittal to reassess the evidence
arid reach its own conclusions under Sections 378 and
379 (sic 386) CrPC are as extensive as in any appeal
D against the order of conviction. But as a rule of prudence,
it is desirable that the High Court should give proper weight
and consideration to the view of the trial court with regard
to the credibility of the witness, the presumption of
innocence in favour of the accused, the right of accused
E to the benefit of any doubt and th~ slowness of appellate
court in justifying a finding of fact arrived at by a judge who
had the advantage of of seeing the witness. No doubt it is
settled law that if the main grounds on which the Court
below has based its order acquitting the accused, are
F reasonable and plausible, and the same cannot entirely
and effectively be dislodged or demolished, the High Court
should not disturb the order of acquittal. We shall, therefore,
examine the evidence and the ma.terial on record to see
.~ -
whether the conclusions recorded by the Trial Court in
acquitting the appellant are reasonable and plausible or
G
the same are vitiated by some manifest illegality or the
conclusion recorded by the Trial Court are such which
could not have been possibly arrived at by any Court acting
reasonably and judiciously which may in other words be
characterized as perverse."
H
GHUREY LAL v. STATE OF U.P. 533
[DALV~ER BHANDARI, J.]
.. ~
64. This Court time and again has provided direction as A
to when the High Courts should interfere with an acquittal. In
Madan Lal v. State of J&K, (1997) 7 SCC 677, the Court ob-
served as under:
"8 ......... that there must be "sufficient and compelling
reasons" or "good and sufficiently cogent reasons" for the B
.,c'1I '(" appellate court to alter an order of acquittal to one of
,,
conviction ........
65. In Sambasivan & Others v. State of Kera/a (1998) 5
SCC 412, while relying on the case of Ramesh Babula/ Doshi c
(Supra), the Court observed thus:
7. The principles with regard to the scope of the powers
of the appellate court in an appeal against acquittal, are
well settled. The powers of the appellate court in an appeal
against acquittal are no less than in an appeal against D
conviction. But where on the basis of evidence on record
-4,
two views are reasonably possible the appellate court
cannot substitute its view in the place of that of the trial
court. It is only when the approach of the trial court in
acquitting an accused is found to be clearly erroneous in E
its consideration of evidence on record and in deducing
conclusions therefrom that the appellate court can interfere
with the order of acquittal."
66. In Bhagwan Singh & Others v. State of M.P (2002) 4
SCC 85, the Court repeated one of the fundamental principles F
'::! ... of criminal jurisprudence that if two views are possible on the
evidence adduced in the case, one pointing to the guilt of the
accused and the other to his innocence, the view which is
favourable to the accused should be adopted. The Court ob-
served as under:- G
'7. The golden thread which runs through the web of
- -., administration of justice in criminal case is that if two views
are possible on the evidence adduced in the case, one
pointing to the guilt of the accused and the other to his
H
534 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 11 S.C.R.

A innocence, the view which is favourable to the accused
should be adopted. Such is not a jurisdiction limitation on
the appellate court but a Judge made guidelines for
circumspection. The paramount consideration of the court
is to ensure that miscarriage of justice is avoided."
B 67. In Harijana Thirupala & Others v. Public Prosecutor,
High Court of A.P, Hyderabad (2002) 6 SCC 470, this Court
again had an occasion to deal with the settled principles of law
restated by several decisions of this Court. Despite a number
of judgments, High Courts continue to fail to keep them in mind
C before. reaching a conclusion. The Court observed thus:
"10. The principles to be kept in mind in our system of
administration of criminal justice are stated and restated
in several decisions of this Court. Yet, sometimes High
Courts fail to keep them in mind before reaching a
D
conclusion as to the guilt or otherwise of the accused in a
given case. The case on hand is one such case. Hence
it is felt necessary to remind about the well-settled
principles again. It is desirable and useful to remind and
keep in mind these principles in deciding a case.
E
11. In our administration of criminal justice an accused is
presumed to be innocent unless such a presumption is
rebutted by the prosecution by producing the evidence to
show him to be guilty of the offence with which he is
F charged. Further if two views are possible on the evidence
produced in the case, one indicating to the guilt of the
accused and the other to his innocence, the viewfavourable
to the accused is to be accepted. In cases where the court
entertains reasonable doubt regarding the guilt of the
accused the benefit of such doubt should go in favour of
G
'the accused. At the same time, the court must not reject
the evidence of the prosecution taking it as false,
untrustworthy or unreliable on fanciful grounds or on the
basis of conjectures and surmises. The case of the
prosecution must be judged as a whole having regard to
H
GHUREY LAL v. STATE OF U.P. 535
[DALVEER BHANDARI, J.]
-- ~
the totality of the evidence. In appreciating the evidence A
the approach of the court must be integrated not truncated
or isolated. In other words, the impact of the evidence in
totality on the prosecution case or innocence of the
accused has to be kept in mind in coming to the conclusion
as to the guilt or otherwise of the accused. In reaching a B
~ ... conclusion about the guilt of the accused, the court has to
appreciate, analyse and assess the evidence placed
before it by the yardstick of probabilities, its intrinsic value
and the animus of witnesses. It must be added that
ultimately and finally the decision in every case depends c
upon the facts of each case.
12. Doubtless the High Court in appeal either against an
order of acquittal or conviction as a court of first appeal
has full power to review the evidence to reach its own
independent conclusion. However, it will not interfere with D
an order of acquittal lightly or merely because one other
----'
view is possible, because with the passing of an order of
. acquittal presumption of innocence in favour of the
accused gets reinforced and strengthened. Ihe High
Court would not be justified to interfere with the order of E
acquittal merely because it feels that sitting as a trial
court it would have proceeded to record a conviction; a
duty is cast on the High Court while reversing an order of
acquittal to examine and discuss the reasons given by the
trial court to acquit the accused and then to dispel those F
.... ~
reasons. If the High Court fails to make such an exercise
the judgment will suffer from serious infirmity."
(emphasis supplied)
68. In C. Antony v. K. G Raghavan Nair, (2003) 1 SCC; 1
G
.... had to reiterate the legal position in cases where there has been
acquittal by the trial courts. This Court observed thus:
,..
"6. This Court in a number of cases has heid that though
the appellate court lias full power to review the evidence
upon which the order of acquittal is founded, still while H
536 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008) 11 S.C.R.
... ,,;;,/

A exercising such an appellate power in a case of acquittal,
the appellate court, should not only consider every matter
on record having a bearing on the question of fact and the
reasons given by the courts below in support of its order
of acquittal, it must express its reasons in the judgment
B which led it to hold that the acquittal is not justified. In
~,,,
those line of cases this Court has also held that the )'"

appellate court must also bear in mind the fact that the trial ;

court had the benefit of seeing the witnesses in the witness
box and the presur,1ption of innocence is not weakened
c by the order of acquittal, and in such cases if two
reasonable conclusions can be reached on the basis of
the evidence on .-ecord, the appellate court should not
disturb the finding of the trial court."
69. In State of Karnataka v. K. Gopalkrishna, (2005) 9
D sec 291, while dealing with an appeal against acquittal, the
Court observed: ,...__
"In such an appeal the Appellate Court does not lightly
· disturb the findings of fact recorded by the Court below. If
on the basis of the same evidence, two views are
E reasonably possible, and the view favouring the accused
is accepted by the Court below, that is sufficient for
upholding the order of acquittal. However, if the Appellate
Court comes to the conclusion that the findings of the
Court below are wholly unreasonable or perverse and not
F based on the evidence on record, or suffers from serious
illegality including ignorance or misreading of evidence >- .....
on record, the Appellate Court will be justified in setting
aside such an order of acquittal."
70. In The State of Goa v. Sanjay Thakran, (2007) 3 SCC
G
755, this Court relied on the judgm~nt in State of Rajasthan v. ....__
Raja Ram (2003) 8 SCC 180 and observed as under:
"15. Generally, the order of acquittal shall not be interfered
t
with because the presumption of innocence of the accused
H is further strengthened by acquittal. The golden thread
'-

GHUREY LAL v. STATE OF U.P. 537
[DALVEER BHANDARI, J.]
• ·#---
which runs through the web of administration of justice in A
criminal cases is that if two views are possible on the
evidence adduced in the case, one pointing to the guilt of
the accused and the other to his innocence, the view which
is favourable to the accused should be adopted .... The
principle to be followed by appellate c.ourt considering the B
·* '1 appeal against the judgment of acquittal is to interfere
only when there are compelling and substantial reasons
for doing so. If the impugned judgment is clearly
unreasonable, it is a compelling reason for interference."
The Court further held as follows: c
"16. it is apparent that while exercising the powers in
appeal against the order of acquittal the court of appeal
would not ordinarily interfere with the order of acquittal
unless the approach of the lower court is vitiated by some
D
manifest illegality and the conclusion arrived at would not
--+- be arrived at by any reasonable person and, therefore,
the decision is to be characterized as perverse. Merely
because two views are possible, the court of appeal would
not take the view which would upset the judgment delivered
by the court below." E

71. In Chandrappa & Others v. State of Karnataka (2007)
4 SCC 415, this Court held:
"(1) An appellate court has full power to review,
reappreciate and reconsider the evidence upon F
., -<( which the order of acquittal is foanded.
(2) The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 puts no
limitation, restriction or condition on exercise of such
power and an appellate court on the evidence before
G
it may reach its own conclusion, both on questions of
fact and of law.
..,.
(3) Various expressions, such as, "substantial and
compelling ~3asons", "good and sufficient grounds'',
"very strong circumstances'', "distorted conclusions", H
.,

538 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 11 S.C.R.

A "glaring mistakes", etc. are not intended to curtail
extensive powers of an appellate court in an appeal
against acquittal. Such phraseologies are more in
the nature of "flourishes of language" to emphasise
the reluctance of an appellate court to interfere with
f
acquittal than to curtail the power of the court to review
t
B I-

the evidence and to come to its own conclusion.
(4) An appellate court, however, must bear in mind that
·in case of acquittal, there is double presumption in
favour of the accused. Firstly, the presumption of
c innocence is available to him under the fundamental
principle of cri111inal jurisprudence that every person
r
f
shall be presumed to be innocent unless he is proved
guilty by a competent court of law. Secondly, the
accused having secured his acquittal, the
D presumption of his innocence is further reinforced,
reaffirmed and strengthened by the trial court.
(5) If two reasonable conclusions are possible on the 1.-
t-
basis of the evidence on record, the appellate court '-r
should not disturb the finding of acquittal recorded
E by the trial court."
72. The following principles emerge from the cases above:
1. The appellate court may review the evidence in
appeals against acquittal under sections 378 and
F 386 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973. Its power
of reviewing evidence is wide and the appellate court
can reappreciate the entire evidence on record. It
can review the trial court's conclusion with respect to
both facts and law.
G
2. The accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The accused possessed this presumption when he
was before the trial court. The trial court's acquittal
bolsters the presumption that he is innocent.

H 3. Due or proper weight and .consideration must be
GHUREY LAL v.. STATE OF U.P. 539
[DALVEER BHANDARI, J.]

given to the trial court's decision. This is especially true A
when a witness' credibility is at issue. It is not enough
for the High Court to take a different view of the evidence.
There must also be substantial and compelling reasons
for holding that trial court was wrong.
73. In light of the above, the High Court and other appel- B
late courts should follow the well settled principles crystallized
by number of judgments if it is going to overrule or otherwise
disturb the trial court's acquittal:
1. The appellate court may only overrule or otherwise c
disturb the trial court's acquittal if it has "very
substantial and compelling reasons" for doing so.
A number of instances arise in which the appellate court
would have "very substantial and compelling reasons" to
discard the trial court's decision. "Very substantial and D
compelling reasons" exist when:
i) The trial court's conclusion with regard to the
facts is palpably wrong;
ii) The trial court's decision ·was based on an E
erroneous view of law;
iii) The trial court's judgment is likely to result in
"grave miscarriage of justice;';
iv) The entire approach of the trial court in dealing F
.. with the evidence was patently illegal;
v) The trial court's judgment was man.ifestly unjust
and unreasonable;
vi) The trial court has ignored the evidence or G
misread the material evidence or has ignored
material documents like dying declarations/
report of the Ballistic expert, etc.

vii) This list is intended to be illustrative, not
exhaustive. H
540 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2008] 11 S.C.R.
~ -,

~I:.;
A 2. The Appellate Court must always give proper weight
and consideration to the findings of the trial co1,Jrt.
3. If two reasonable views can be reached - one that
leads to acquittal, the other to conviction - the High
Courts/appellate courts must rule in favour of the
B accused.
y~
14·. Had the well settled principles been followed by the
High Court, the accused would have been set free 1o·ng ago.
Though the appellate court's power is wide and extensive, it
c must be used with great care and caution.
75. We have considered the entire evidence and docu-
ments on record and the reasoning given by the trial court for
c:1cquitting the accused and also the reasoning of the High Court
for reversal of thejudgment of acquittal. We have also dealt
#
D with a number of cases decided by the Privy Council and this
Court since 1934. In our considered opinion, the trial court care-
~-
fully scrutinized the entire evidence and documents on record
and arrived at the correct conclusion. We are clearly of the opin-
ion that the reasoning given by the High Court for overturning
E the judgment of the trial court is wholly unsustainable and con-
trary to the settled principles of law crystallized by a series of
judgment.

76. On marshalling the entire evidence and the documents
on record, the view taken by the trial court is certainly a pos-
F sible and plausible view. The settled legal position as explained
above is that if the trial court's view is possible and plausible, ,.,, ~

· the High Court should not substitute the same by its own pos-
sible views. The difference in treatment of the case by two.courts
below is particularly noticeable in the manner in which they have
G dealt with the prosecution evidence. While fhe trial court took
great pain in discussing all important material aspects and to
record its opinion on every material and relevant point, the
-;--
learned Judges of the High Court have reversed the judgment
of the trial court without placing the very substantial reasons
H given by it in support of its conclusion. The trial court after mar-
GHUREY LAL v. STATE OF U.P. 541
.... [DALVEER BHANDARI, J.]
~

shalling the evidence on record came to the conclusion that there A
were serious infirmities in the prosecution's story. Following the
settled principles of law, it gave the benefit of doubt to the ac-
cused. In the impugned judgment, the High Court totally ignored
the settled legal position and set aside the well reasoned judg-
ment of the trial court.
..... B

""' 77. The trial court categorically came to the finding that
when the substratum of the evidence of the prosecution wit-
nesses was false, then the prosecution case has to be dis-
carded. When the trial court finds so many serious infirmities in
the prosecution version, then the trial court was virtually left with c
no choice but to give benefit of doubt to the accused according
to the settled principles of criminal jurisprudence.
78. On careful analysis of the entire evidence on record,
we are of the view that the reasons given by the High Court for
D
reversing the judgment of acquittal is unsustainable and con-
~-4-,
trary to settled principles of law. The trial court has the advan-
tage of watching the demeanour of the witnesses who have
given evidence, therefore, the appellate court should be slow to
interfere with the decisions of the trial court. An acquittal by the
trial court should not be interfered with unless it is totally per- E
verse or wholly unsustainable.

79. On consideration of the totality of the circumstances,
the appeal filed by the appellant is allowed and the impugned
judgment passed by the High Court is set aside. The appellant F
/< -"'. would be set at liberty forthwith unless required in any other case.
R.P. Appeal allowed .