Don’t reverse acquittals unless necessary, SC tells HCs

“High courts will interfere in appeals against acquittals, only where the trial court makes wrong assumptions of material facts or fails to appreciate the evidence properly,” the apex court observed while acquitting five persons sentenced to life imprisonment by the Bombay High Court in a murder case.

The Bench of Justices G P Mathur and R V Raveendran said that while the High court can review the entire evidence and reach its own conclusions, it shall not interfere with the acquittal by the trial court unless there are strong reasons based on evidence which can dislodge the findings arrived by the trial court.

“The high court has to give due importance to the conclusions of the trial court, if they had been arrived at after proper appreciation of the evidence,” the bench said.