New Delhi: The Supreme Court has acquitted father and son in a murder case 28 years ago, giving them the benefit of doubt. Both of them were sentenced to life imprisonment by the lower court and the High Court. The Supreme Court said that the prosecution has failed to prove the case against both of them. In such a situation, both are acquitted by giving benefit of doubt. The case of Mohd Muslim vs UP Government came up before a bench headed by Justice V Rama Subrahmanyam of the Supreme Court. The court said that there are no credible eyewitnesses in the case. Also, this fact is not proved that both the accused were present on the spot at the time of the incident. In such a case, the benefit of doubt is given to the accused.
This case is of 1995. According to the police, Mohammad Altaf Hussain, a resident of Uttarakhand, was going on a bicycle when his/her son and nephew were with him/her. It is alleged that during this time the accused attacked Altaf with a hammer and due to this he/she died. An attempt was made to nab the accused on the spot but they fled. A case was registered in the matter on August 4, 1995. Police recovered the blanket on the bicycle present on the spot.According to the police, the cycle and blanket belonged to the accused. The Supreme Court said in the judgment that these recovered things were never produced in the court. The accused denied their involvement and said they were framed in the case. On April 25, 1998, the sessions court convicted both the accused in the murder case and sentenced them to life imprisonment. The High Court on 10 September 2010 upheld the life sentence. After this, both of them challenged the High Court’s decision in the Supreme Court in 2011.