Appeal against acquittal: appellate courts must defer to a plausible trial court view and avoid substituting probabilities for proof.

In an appeal against acquittal, an appellate court may reappreciate evidence but must give due weight to the trial court's view and interfere only if that view is perverse. Where two reasonable conclusions are possible, the one favouring the accused prevails. The trial court had found material contradictions and omissions in the prosecution case and treated the suicide note as not implicating any accused, making its view plausible. The High Court erred by substituting its own inference and applying a probabilities-based standard instead of proof beyond reasonable doubt. The reversal of acquittal was therefore unjustified, and the trial court's judgment was restored.

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Issues: Whether the High Court was justified in reversing the trial court's acquittal and convicting the accused in the absence of perversity in the trial court's appreciation of evidence.

Analysis: The settled rule in an appeal against acquittal is that the appellate court may reappreciate the evidence, but it must give due weight to the trial court's view and should not interfere merely because another view is possible. Where two reasonable conclusions are possible, the one favouring the accused must prevail. The trial court had closely examined the evidence, noticed material contradictions and omissions in the prosecution case, and treated the suicide note as an important circumstance because it did not implicate any accused. On a careful reading of the record, the trial court's view was held to be a possible and plausible one and not perverse. The High Court, by substituting its own inference on a reappraisal of the evidence and relying on probabilities rather than proof beyond reasonable doubt, had applied an incorrect standard for reversal of acquittal.

Conclusion: The High Court was not justified in reversing the acquittal. The trial court's judgment was restored and the convictions recorded by the High Court were set aside.

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