Appeal against acquittal: conviction upheld where reliable eyewitness and medical evidence disproved the defence version.

In an appeal against acquittal, the SC reiterated that interference is justified where the trial court rejects trustworthy evidence on fanciful or unreasonable doubts and adopts a view that is only barely possible. The eyewitness evidence was found reliable, the inconsistencies were treated as minor, and the medical evidence supported the prosecution case that the deceased was stabbed while lying down. On that record, the High Court was right to reverse the acquittal and convict the appellant for murder, and the conviction was upheld because the prosecution evidence as a whole established guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

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Issues: Whether the High Court was justified in reversing the acquittal and convicting the appellant for murder on the basis of the prosecution evidence and the governing principles for appellate interference with an acquittal.

Analysis: The evidence of the eyewitnesses was found to be trustworthy and the discrepancies relied upon by the trial court were only minor details that had been unduly magnified. The medical evidence supported the prosecution version that the deceased was stabbed while lying down, and not the defence version that she intervened between the appellant and another witness. The Court reiterated that an appellate court may reappraise the entire evidence in an appeal against acquittal, and that interference is warranted where the trial court has rejected creditworthy evidence on fanciful doubts or has taken a view that is only barely possible. The benefit of doubt arises only from a reasonable, not imaginary, view of the evidence.

Conclusion: The High Court was right in interfering with the acquittal and the conviction of the appellant for murder was upheld.

Final Conclusion: An acquittal can be reversed where the trial court's view is unreasonable and the prosecution evidence, read as a whole, establishes guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

Ratio Decidendi: In an appeal against acquittal, interference is justified where the trial court rejects reliable evidence on fanciful or unreasonable doubts and the evidence on record does not support a reasonably probable view in favour of the accused.

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