CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has acquitted three accused in a 1998 murder and robbery case, setting aside their conviction and sentences imposed by a trial court over two decades ago.
The judgment, delivered by a division bench comprising Justices Manash Ranjan Pathak and Sashikanta Mishra, came in criminal appeals challenging the 2001 trial court verdict. The case dates back to the alleged murder of 70-year-old Rekhamani Panda of Jeypore, who went missing on September 9, 1998, and was later found dead in a canal. The prosecution had claimed that the main accused Surendranath Sahu lured the victim to his house, killed her, robbed her of gold ornaments and cash and disposed of her body. Two persons, K Maleswar Achary and K Balaji Achary, were accused of assisting in melting and selling the stolen gold.
On August 13, 2001, the Additional Sessions Judge, Jeypore had convicted Sahu under sections 302, 394, and 201 of the IPC, sentencing him to life imprisonment. The co-accused were awarded two years’ rigorous imprisonment under Section 414 IPC.
However, the high court found serious gaps in the prosecution’s case. It observed, “The nature of death of the deceased being homicidal in nature, has to be supported by other incriminating evidence to show the guilt of the accused but by itself it has no value.”
The bench also cast doubt on the alleged motive of robbery, noting inconsistencies in the prosecution’s narrative.