Hostile witnesses and disputed Section 164 statements cannot sustain conviction without a complete, reliable chain of proof.

Hostile eyewitnesses and disputed Section 164 statements could not sustain the prosecution case, because such statements are not substantive evidence and the witnesses did not support the occurrence on oath. The alleged motive was also not proved through reliable evidence, as the motive witnesses did not establish an immediate and dependable motive against all accused. Recoveries at the instance of the accused likewise failed, because the panch witnesses turned hostile, the investigating evidence alone was insufficient, and the forensic material did not complete a reliable chain linking the articles to the offences. The conviction and sentence were therefore unsustainable and acquittal followed.

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Issues: (i) whether the prosecution proved the case when the alleged eyewitnesses turned hostile and the statements recorded under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 were disputed; (ii) whether the alleged motive and recoveries at the instance of the accused were proved by reliable evidence.

Issue (i): whether the prosecution proved the case when the alleged eyewitnesses turned hostile and the statements recorded under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 were disputed

Analysis: The principal eyewitnesses did not support the prosecution version and nothing material emerged in cross-examination to establish that they had witnessed the occurrence. The witnesses who had earlier given statements under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 stated in Court that those statements were not voluntary and were made under police pressure. A statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 is not substantive evidence and, by itself, cannot sustain a conviction when the witnesses do not support it on oath.

Conclusion: The prosecution did not prove the guilt of the accused on the basis of the eyewitnesses or the disputed Section 164 statements.

Issue (ii): whether the alleged motive and recoveries at the instance of the accused were proved by reliable evidence

Analysis: The witnesses examined on motive did not support the prosecution case in a manner that established a reliable and immediate motive against all accused. The panch witnesses to the alleged recoveries turned hostile, and the investigating evidence alone was found insufficient to prove the voluntary statements and the recoveries with the required assurance. The forensic material also did not complete the chain so as to connect the recovered articles conclusively with the offences.

Conclusion: The motive and recovery evidence were not proved to the standard required for sustaining the conviction.

Final Conclusion: The conviction and sentence could not be sustained on the evidence on record, and the accused were entitled to acquittal.

Ratio Decidendi: When the eyewitnesses and recovery witnesses turn hostile, a conviction cannot rest on uncorroborated Section 164 statements or on investigating officer evidence alone unless the prosecution otherwise proves a complete and reliable chain of incriminating circumstances.

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