Photo Courtesy: tripuratimes
Agartala: The Tripura High Court acquitted five men convicted of assaulting a woman. Justice Biswajit Palit issued the order on September 24. This ruling kills the March 6, 2024 judgment from the Sessions Judge in North Tripura, Dharmanagar. The case began with an FIR Susmita Nath filed at Dharmanagar police station on May 29, 2021. She claimed the group entered her home to attack her and her kin.
The Chief Judicial Magistrate had sentenced Tapan Nath, Pintu Nath, Asish Paul, Suman Paul, and Radha Vinode Nath to 15 days of simple imprisonment each. They faced a fine of Rs 1,000 with a week of jail time if they failed to pay. Initially, the police charge sheet targeted five women, but the court added these five men later under Section 319 of the CrPC. The High Court found the lower court rulings suffered from serious errors. The court held that the "judgments of the trial court and the first appellate court suffered from infirmities and perversity" while lacking enough evidence to sustain a conviction.
Evidence proved weak. Only the informant supported the case against the petitioners. The state failed to call her brother or parents to testify. Prosecutors never brought the investigating officer to the stand. Additionally, the medical officer could not link his exam of the victim's brother to this specific fight. Police had even moved to drop these five men during the initial investigation. Justice Palit cleared all five petitioners and ordered their sureties discharged immediately.
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