Courts must be on guard, test evidence meticulously when FIR is delayed: Supreme Court

“Courts must be on guard and test evidence meticulously to rule out possibility of embellishments in the prosecution’s story when an FIR is delayed and there is absence of proper explanation,” the Supreme Court has said.

“Courts must be on guard and test evidence meticulously to rule out possibility of embellishments in the prosecution’s story when an FIR is delayed and there is absence of proper explanation,” the Supreme Court has said.

The apex court acquitted two people whose conviction and life sentence for the offence of murder in a case lodged in 1989 was affirmed by the Chhattisgarh High Court.

A Bench of justices J. B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra noted that the accused were tried for allegedly murdering a man on August 25, 1989, while the FIR in the case was lodged the next day in Bilaspur district.

"When an FIR is delayed, in absence of proper explanation, the courts must be on guard and test the evidence meticulously to rule out possibility of embellishments in the prosecution story, inasmuch as delay gives opportunity for deliberation and guess work," the Bench said in its verdict delivered on September 5.

"More so, in a case where probability of no one witnessing the incident is high, such as in a case of night occurrence in an open place or a public street," it said.

The Bench delivered its verdict on the appeals filed by appellants — Harilal and Parasram —challenging the February 2010 judgment of the high court which had affirmed the July 1991 order of a trial court convicting and sentencing them to life imprisonment for murder.