Thane Court Acquits Man In 2022 Robbery Case: Key Reasons

A Thane court acquitted a 43-year-old man in a 2022 robbery case, citing insufficient evidence to prove his identity, despite being booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act.

Photograph: Kamal Singh/PTI Photo

Key Points

Thane court acquits man in 2022 robbery case due to lack of identification.
The accused was also booked under the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA).
Witnesses failed to reliably identify the accused as the robbers wore masks.
The court discarded the accused's confessional statement as it was retracted.
Prior chargesheets were insufficient to establish guilt under MCOCA when the primary offence was not proven.

A special court in Thane district on Monday acquitted a 43-year-old man in a 2022 robbery case in which he was also booked under the tough Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act, observing the prosecution failed to prove the accused's identity beyond reasonable doubt.

Key Evidence and Witness Testimony

Special MCOCA Court Judge V G Mohite acquitted the accused, Bakar alias Babar Akram Alli, a resident of Bidar in Karnataka, of all criminal charges slapped on him.

He was booked under section 394 (voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery) read with section 34 (common intention) of the IPC and relevant provisions of the MCOCA.

The special public prosecutor told the court that a woman was robbed of a gold necklace worth Rs 1.5 lakh by two masked motorcycle-borne men at Thakurli in Thane district on October 10, 2022.

Advocate Poonit Mahimkar, who represented the accused, sought to punched holes in the prosecution story.

Reasoning for Acquittal

During the trial, the court observed that the prime witnesses failed to reliably identify the accused as the perpetrators wore masks during the robbery.

Judge Mohite noted, "The identity of the accused is not proved beyond doubt by the prosecution. Evidence of prosecution witnesses is a weak piece of evidence to prove his identity. They have not properly seen the faces of robbers as they had covered their faces by masks and the incident happened in a fraction of moment."

The court also discarded the confessional statement of the accused recorded during the investigation as it was subsequently retracted before the Chief Judicial Magistrate.

The Judge noted that mere collection of prior chargesheets (against the accused) is insufficient to establish guilt under the MCOCA when the primary offence (robbery) is not proved.

Consequently, the court ordered the immediate release of the accused.

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