Kolkata, July 25 -- The Calcutta High Court has acquitted two men who were earlier convicted of attempting to murder their employer's brother, ruling that the prosecution had failed to establish common intention among the accused.

The case involved four men accused of attacking Netai Bera on October 25, 1986, during a dispute over agricultural produce among brothers. All four were convicted under Section 307 read with Section 34 of the IPC by a trial court in Midnapore in 1988 and sentenced to four years' rigorous imprisonment. During the pendency of the appeal, two of the accused-Gour Bera and Jagai Bera-died. The appeal stood abated against them. The remaining two appellants, Sovan Kha and Dukha Chalak, both labourers of the Bera family, were acquitted by the High Court.

The bench of Justice Prasenjit Biswas noted several inconsistencies and deficiencies in the prosecution's case. Key eyewitnesses were examined by the police several days-up to 62 days-after the incident, with no explanation for the delay. The court observed that none of the eyewitnesses disclosed the incident to anyone before they were questioned by the police. Immediate neighbours of the victim were not examined as witnesses. Medical evidence also did not conclusively support the prosecution's version. Although the victim was brought to the hospital in a conscious state, he did not identify his attackers to the attending doctor.

The injury report did not specify whether the injuries were caused by assault or accidental fall.The court held that there was no proof that the two appellants had shared a pre-arranged plan or acted with common intention-a requirement for conviction under Section 34 IPC. It observed that mere presence at the scene or alleged obedience to an order was insufficient to establish criminal liability.

The court allowed the appeal, set aside the conviction, and ordered that the appellants be released from their bail bonds if not wanted in any other case.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.