New Delhi, June 9
The acquittal of four members of the Surinder gang in a daring train robbery and a murder near Sampla by the Punjab and Haryana High Court has come under severe criticism of the Supreme Court while setting aside the acquittal verdict and ordering immediate arrest of the accused.

The High Court had acquitted Surinder and his three accomplices in the 13-year-old case on the ground that their test identification parade (TIP) was not held at the time of their arrest and they were identified by the witnesses only during the trial.

The Sessions Court had awarded life imprisonment to them for causing the murder of Purushotam, a resident of Delhi, during the train looting on February 1, 1994, between Dekhora and Sampla when he challenged them. Ten-year imprisonment for the robbery was imposed on them by the trial court.

Purushotam was taking his brother Yashbir for treatment to Rohtak Medical College, along with their sister Sushila. He was attacked with a sharp-edged weapon. Yashbir, Sushila and another passenger Ashok Kumar had received bullet injuries.

A Bench of justices Arijit Pasayat and D K Jain said though the principle of law was that when there were two views possible on the evidence against an accused, one pointing toward his guilt and the other to his innocence, the benefit of the doubt certainly went to the accused, but this principle should not be applied just in a routine manner, otherwise it would lead to miscarriage of justice to victims of the crime.

The Bench disapproved the high court’s applying the law in a routine manner in such border line cases, saying “there is no embargo on the appellate court reviewing the evidence upon which an order of acquittal is based.”

It said the High Court had completely ignored the eyewitness account of brother and sister though both were injured in the attack. Their evidence were not even discussed.