BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court has held that an accused can be convicted of murder if there is strong evidence pointing to his role even in the absence of proof of motive.
The court made this observation while convicting a constable of murder. G Kantharaju of Vijayanagar police had been booked for the murder of Gunasagara Hegde, a real estate dealer of Mangalore.
According to prosecution, Kantharaju had given an advance of `50,000 to Hegde for the purchase of a house site. However, Hegde was not able to secure a site for Kantharaju nor did he refund the advance. He got frustrated and decided to eliminate Hegde.
The prosecution said the accused had called Hegde to Mysore on the pretext of meeting a seer who needed a site in Mangalore for an old age home. Accordingly, Hegde reached Mysore on June 21, 2009 and they left to meet the swami by 10 pm. On the way, when they reached Nerale village, the accused allegedly shot Hegde with a pistol. He poured petrol over the body and burnt it to erase evidence.
The prosecution relied on last seen theory and circumstantial evidence to nail him. It also relied on the statement of witnesses who saw them last near Nerale village. The prosecution examined 52 witnesses and other documentary evidence like postmortem reports, ballistic reports and seizure panchanamas.
Though Kantharaju denied all the allegations, the sessions court convicted him of murder and destruction of evidence. However, he challenged the judgment before the High Court stating that the prosecution had failed to establish a motive in the case.
Upholding the verdict of the sessions court, the High Court observed that even in the absence of proof of motive for murder, an accused can be convicted.