New Delhi, Jul 21 A Delhi court has convicted three men for the 2019 murder of a man in the Badarpur area, saying that the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that they acted with a common intention to fatally stab him over an earlier rivalry.
Additional Sessions Judge Anuj Agrawal was hearing a case against Manish alias Shivam, Nishu Jha and Diwakar alias Monu, who were accused of stabbing and killing Ram Prakash on September 4, 2019.
In an order dated July 10, the court said, “The accused persons are liable to be held guilty for the offence punishable under Section 324 read with Section 34 of the IPC on this count and also for the offence punishable under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the IPC for causing the death of Ram Prakash.”
An FIR was registered in Badarpur police station against the accused persons under Sections 302/34 (murder with common intention) and 324/34 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons) of the IPC.
The court, however, acquitted Nishu Jha of the charge under Section 25 of the Arms Act, saying the prosecution failed to establish that the recovered button-actuated knife fell within the prohibited category or was possessed for any purpose covered under the law.
According to the prosecution, Ram Prakash and his sons, Saurav and Ravi, were returning home after attending a birthday party on September 4, 2019, when they were intercepted by the three accused in Molarband Extension.
The court relied heavily on the testimony of Saurav, the deceased's son and the lone eyewitness, saying that his account remained consistent despite lengthy cross-examination and was corroborated by medical and forensic evidence.
"The testimony of PW-4 (Saurav Sharma), who is also the injured, stands on a high pedestal of credibility and merits full acceptance," the judge said.
While holding the accused guilty of murder, the court convicted the three for voluntarily causing hurt with dangerous weapons.
The court listed the matter for hearing the convicts on the quantum of sentence on July 23.
