Mumbai court acquits man in 42-year-old attempted murder case citing lack of evidence

A 42yearold criminal case ended in acquittal on July 24 after a Mumbai Sessions Court cleared 67yearold Salim Dorajiwala holding that the prosecution failed to prove his identity and his role in the crime beyond reasonable doubtBeyond the verdict the case highlights the damaging impact of judicial delays with key witnesses dying memories fading and evidence weakening over four decades The lone surviving eyewitness could not identify the accusedAdditional Sessions Judge MR Natu acquitted Dorajiwala of charges under Sections 307 attempt to murder 326 grievous hurt by dangerous weapons and 324 hurt by dangerous weapons read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal CodeAccording to the National Judicial Data Grid nearly 498 crore cases are pending across Indian courts including 384 crore criminal and 113 crore civil casesAccording to the prosecution the complainant Sadanand Mahabal Shetty had alleged that three armed persons entered his residence at Sethana Wall Compound Nesbit Road Mazagaon around 1130 pm on August 11 1982The prosecution claimed that the accused entered the house carrying daggers Shetty was allegedly attacked with a dagger blow to the forehead a person named Shrinivas who intervened was allegedly stabbed the assailants allegedly fled in a taxi and the alleged motive was a previous dispute near the Sweet Heart beer bar in TadwadiThe court found that prosecution failed to establishhellipgtgt The accusedrsquos identity and his role in the alleged attackgtgt Common intention with other alleged offenders The court reiterated that criminal conviction requires proof beyond reasonable doubtlsquoWe have failed Constitutionrsquos mandate of speedy justicersquoSenior Counsel Majeed Memon a wellknown criminal lawyer said ldquoA criminal case ending after 42 years is a stark reminder that we have failed the Constitutionrsquos mandate of speedy justice Article 21 guarantees not just justice but inexpensive and expeditious justice When trials stretch across decades victims accused and society all suffer We need structural reforms mdash extended court hours strict limits on adjournments fasttrack courts conducting daytoday trials and better judicial administrationSenior Counsel Majeed MemonThe 2G spectrum trial showed that when the Supreme Court closely monitored proceedings and adjournments were not routinely granted a complex case involving accused mostly from Mumbai and Tamil Nadu was completed efficiently That model should be replicated especially for longpending criminal cases As has often been said the civilisation of a nation can best be judged by the effectiveness of its system of justice If criminal cases continue to remain pending for four decades it reflects poorly on our justice delivery system Such delays are unacceptable and one can only say that a society which tolerates this level of judicial pendency cannot claim to be truly civilisedrdquoHe added ldquoSpecial courts were constituted to ensure the expeditious disposal of criminal cases involving elected representatives so that the outcome of the proceedings would be known during their tenure in public office Unfortunately even these courts have largely failed to achieve that objective In many instances elected representatives complete their full term before their cases are decided defeating the very purpose for which these special courts were established The same problem exists with election petitions We have seen numerous cases over the past several decades where election petitions remained pending until the entire electoral term had expired By the time a verdict is delivered the grievance has become largely academic Justice delivered after the purpose has been defeated is no justice at allrdquoThe court noted thathellipgtgt Original complainant Sadanand Shetty died in 2016gtgt Another important witness Anusaya Shetty died in 2025gtgt Several witnesses could not be tracedgtgt Only one prosecution witness remained available for examinationgtgt The prosecution relied mainly on Pushpalata Sanjiva Bangera a relative of the complainant who was 12 at the time of the incident The judgment recorded thathellipgtgt The sole witness stated she had lost memory of several details and she could not identify the assailantgtgt She could not confirm whether Shrinivas was even presentgtgt The prosecution failed to establish the accusedrsquos specific involvementgtgt The court held that suspicion cannot replace proof required for criminal convictionPendency reasonsCounsel not available 6035402Accused absconding 3412087Witness 2594275Stayed for reasons 2071312Awaiting documents 1389657Parties not interested 743421Frequent appeals 435360LRs not on record 137676Misc applns blocked 97573More witness 80166Stayed by HC 57314Execution of Decree 26131Record unavailable 24702Stayed by DC 4986Stayed by SC 73349800000No of cases pending in Indian courts