Man who stabbed victim 16 times due to personal enmity in 2017 convicted of murder

New Delhi: A Delhi sessions court has convicted a man charged with stabbing a person to death due to personal enmity in 2017 on the testimony of the victim’s minor son. The court was hearing a case of knife attack against Bal Karan Yadav, who was accused of stabbing Khushi Ram 16 times in Okhla Phase 3. Ram was declared dead at a hospital.

“The case of prosecution stands proved against the accused beyond a reasonable doubt. Hence, he is convicted for the offence under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code,” Additional Sessions Judge Sachin Sangwan said in an order last week. The court has posted the matter for further proceedings on January 17 when arguments on sentence will likely take place.

The court said merely because the family of the deceased did not name Yadav as the killer in the phone call to police doesn’t mean they did not know his identity.

Rejecting the argument of Yadav’s counsel that the testimony of the victim’s minor son, who was an eyewitness, was “planted evidence”, the court said the testimony of a witness has to be appreciated considering the age, social background, education, profession etc.

“It is to be noted that the eyewitness was a teenage boy at the time of the incident. Even if a grown-up man witnesses a murder where the injured is stabbed with a knife multiple times and there is blood all over, he may run for cover,” the court said. It said the reaction of any ordinary individual on witnessing a murder is of self-preservation, shock and mental trauma, and the observation power may dull or freeze during such moments.

The minor son’s testimony had stood the test of cross-examination and cannot be discredited, the court said.

The court said a mere lack of independent witnesses cannot be equated to a false case and it was aware of the general attitude of the public to shy away from police proceedings unless their own interest was involved.

On the accused’s motive, the court said at the time of the offence there was already a case against Yadav under the POCSO Act for allegedly molesting the deceased’s daughter.

After the registration of the case, the accused threatened to kill Ram and the minor daughter following which another complaint was lodged against Yadav, the court said.