LUCKNOW: While reprimanding the prosecution and police administration for a defective investigation that struck at “the root of the Rampur CRPF camp terrorist attack case,” the Allahabad High Court acquitted four accused who were awarded capital punishment by the trial court in connection with the 2007 attack.
The High Court also absolved another accused, who was sentenced to life imprisonment, of the key charges. However, the division bench of Justices Siddhartha Varma and Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra awarded 10 years of rigorous imprisonment to the appellants under the Arms Act.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh each on the appellants - Mohd Sharif, Sabauddin, Imran Shahjad, Mohd Farooq, and Jang Bahadur - for offences committed under the Arms Act.
The bench said, “The period of imprisonment undergone by the appellants will be adjusted towards the above sentence awarded to the appellants.”
As many as eight CRPF jawans died in the attack, while five others sustained grievous injuries. In 2019, the Rampur Sessions Court had sentenced Mohammad Sharif (47), Sabauddin (46), and two Pakistani nationals and alleged LeT operatives - Imran Shahzad (48) and Mohammad Farooq (47) - to death. It had sentenced the fifth accused, Jang Bahadur (58), to life imprisonment.
The Sessions Court had acquitted two others, Gulab Khan (41) and Mohammad Kausar (48), citing insufficient evidence. Police had claimed to have recovered arms and ammunition from the arrested men.
The capital appeal and reference were filed by the convicts against the 2019 verdict of the Rampur court in Session Trial No. 208 of 2008 (State vs Mohd Sharif @ Suhail and Others).
Allowing the appeal, the High Court found the accused guilty only under Section 25(1-A) of the Arms Act based on the recovery of an AK-47 rifle from their possession.
“The defect in investigation struck the root of the case and ultimately culminated in the acquittal of the accused persons,” the court observed, adding, “The prosecution miserably failed to prove the case against the accused for the principal offence beyond reasonable doubt, which is a golden rule that runs through the web of criminal jurisprudence.”
The bench said the state is at liberty to act against the police officers responsible for lapses in the investigation. It added, “The case would have met a different result had the investigation and prosecution been conducted by a more trained police.”
The court cited gaps in eyewitness accounts and safekeeping of evidence while ordering the acquittal. It also appreciated the efforts of Amicus Curiae Imran Ullah and directed the legal services authority to pay him Rs 25,000 as remuneration for his assistance in the capital case.
