Raipur: The Chhattisgarh high court has ruled that ‘Suspicion, no matter how strong, cannot take the place of proof’ while acquitting two men, accused of possessing tiffin bombs and being cadres of outlawed CPI (Maoist). The case relates to the arrest of Muchaki Deva (38) and Vijja Podyami (35) during a search operation by the security forces near Bhadrimahu village in Bastar district in Chhattisgarh in September 2015 and recovery of explosive devices based on their statements. They were booked under Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, 2005, and the Explosive Substances Act, 1908. The trial court had however acquitted them citing contradictions in the seizure proceedings while pointing out the absence of an FSL report to confirm that the seized material was explosive. The state government had later challenged the trial court’s verdict in the high court. A division bench of the high court comprising Justice Sanjay S Agrawal and Justice Radhakishan Agrawal noted ‘major contradictions and omissions’ in the testimonies of the investigating officer and two seizure witnesses and held that all seizure documents had been signed at the police station rather than at the spot. The court observed that the prosecution has failed to produce clinching evidence to establish the links of the accused to the explosives. While acquitting the two men of all the charges by upholding the trial court’s verdict, the high court bench observed that ‘The entire case was based on suspicion, but suspicion cannot be substitute for proof’.
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