Supreme Court: Acquittal reversal requires trial court's view to be perverse or impossible

This case concerns a criminal appeal by Sanjay Kumar against his conviction for dowry harassment and abetment of suicide, which was obtained by the High Court reversing his acquittal by the Sessions Court. The core issue is whether the High Court was legally justified in overturning the trial court's acquittal without finding the trial court's view to be perverse or impossible.

Petitioner: Sanjay Kumar; Respondent: State of Himachal Pradesh; Bench: Justice Atul S. Chandurkar.

• The Court held that the High Court erred in reversing the acquittal without finding the Sessions Court's view to be perverse or impossible.
• The Court noted that the High Court failed to engage with the reasons assigned by the Sessions Court for the acquittal.
• The Court observed that the High Court's finding that the appellant abused and dragged the victim was not supported by evidence on record, as witnesses admitted in cross-examination they had not made such statements to police.
• The Court emphasized that the Sessions Court had the opportunity to observe the demeanor of witnesses, which the High Court did not account for.

Written from the document by AI, and checked against it. The original below is authoritative.

The original document