Allowing appeals by the four, sentenced from between three years rigorous imprisonment to life, a division bench, comprising Justices K N Basha and P Devadass set aside their convictions.
The Bench said right from the moment a FIR is registered, the FIR, documents seized, property recovered and witnesses' statements should reach the court concerned with the least delay to prevent distortion of a true version as to the occurrence and false implication of innocent persons.
"Every delay in submitting these documents to the court will give much scope and chance for interpolation, story telling and any unreasonable and unexplained delay on this account will affect the credibility and the quality of the evidence of prosecution witnesses, more particularly eye- witnesses and key-witnesses in a case," it observed.
The prosecution case was that one Pandiyarajan had married Chitra,sister of Ramachandran, Pandi and Rajasekaran.Following quarrels between the couple over their families, Pandiyarajan was murdered on May 5, 2008 and police took up investigation.
On Sep 27, 2010, Tirupur Additional Sessions Judge sentenced Ramachandran and Rajasekaran to life, Pandi to 10 years of RI and one Sivanasamy to three years RI.
The Judges pointed out that a brother of the deceased had stated in the FIR the names of persons who caused injuries to him and another brother. It included the name of a fifth person, which, however, was not stated in the FIR.
The other brother also deposed similarly.
Both eye-witnesses had spoken inconsistently and it was clear from from their evidence that the FIR was a fabricated document, the Bench said.
It said the FIR was not a just substantial piece of evidence, but in a criminal case, was an important document as it set the law in motion. It contained the first (earliest version) information about the cognisable offence.
The Judges said another infirmity was a six hour delay in the FIR reaching the court, situated just 205 yards from the police station, where it was lodged. This assumed importance as it casts doubt.
"The delay goes to the root of the matter.It shakes the version of the prosecution case embodied in the FIR," they said and overturned the convictions.
