RANCHI - The Jharkhand High Court has set aside the life sentence of a villager convicted of murder, observing that his statement during trial was recorded in English, though he was not even literate.
Noting that there was no indication that the statement had been explained to him in his mother tongue, the HC said his lapse had violated his right to a fair trial. Further finding the prosecution had failed to prove the murder charge beyond reasonable doubt, the court acquitted him.
On October 1, a division bench of Justices Ananda Sen and Pradeep Kumar Srivastava allowed an appeal filed by Chamra Oraon who was convicted under Section 302 IPC. The trial court in Ranchi had sentenced him to life imprisonment in April 2018 for allegedly drowning his nephew's wife in a well in February 2009
Referring to a land dispute between the two sides, the court observed that "it is quite possible that, in order to frame the accused, a mere accident has been given the colour of murder". The bench found contradictions in testimony of witnesses and there were no internal or external mechanical injuries found in the postmortem report.
The HC questioned the way Oraon's statement was recorded under Section 313 of CrPC, which gives opportunity to accused to explain circumstances and evidence presented against them. The judgment noted Oraon had placed his left thumb impression on the statement, which was recorded in English.
The court observed, "The appellant admittedly... he is not even literate." It further observed there was nothing on record to indicate the questions and answers had been translated from Oraon's mother tongue or the contents had been read out and explained to him. The court said an interpreter should have been provided if there was a communication gap or lack of understanding.
The court said absence of such safeguards was a serious lapse at trial that goes to the root of the matter and shakes the edifice of a fair trial.
For India's trial courts, this is a reminder: procedural fairness matters, especially for Adivasi undertrials.
Tags: #JharkhandHC #CrPC313 #FairTrial #Literacy #Oraon #MurderAcquittal #AdivasiRights #LanguageBarrier #RuleOfLaw #Section302