Trial Court Rejecting Application For FSL Report Of Weapon In Attempt To Murder Case Leads To Miscarriage Of Justice: Rajasthan High Court

The Rajasthan High Court set aside the order of an Additional Sessions Judge that had disallowed the application filed by the complainant seeking an FSL report of the alleged weapon and the blood-stained clothes in a case of attempt to murder.

The court held that denying the FSL report which would assist the trial court in correctly concluding the role of the accused was a miscarriage of justice. It was held:

“As regards the seeking of the FSL report, same will rather go a long way to assist the learned trial court in coming to the correct conclusion qua the role attributed to the accused in causing injuries. To deny the application without seeking the report would thus result in a miscarriage of justice.”

A bench of Justice Arun Monga was hearing a plea against the order of the Sessions judge, filed by the complainant in a pending case of attempt to murder. The application seeking the FSL report of the weapon used for inflicting injuries and the blood-stained clothes was rejected on the grounds that it was filed belatedly with an oblique motive to delay the trial.

It was the opinion of the Sessions judge that the application should have been filed before the magistrate at the time of the trial when cognizance was initially taken.

Ruling the opinion of the Sessions judge to be a grave error, the Court rejected the same and observed that the application was in the nature of adducing evidence and thus had to be filed at the stage of prosecution evidence only before the Sessions court. Since the pending case was at the prosecution evidence stage, the application was filed correctly and by rejecting the application, a fallacy was committed by the Sessions court.

“The learned Sessions court fell in grave error in observing that the application ought to have been filed before the learned Magistrate at the time of the committal of the trial. The application, being in the nature of adducing evidence, has to be filed at the stage of prosecution evidence before the learned Sessions Court. Therefore, dismissing it on that ground is a complete fallacy committed by the learned Sessions Court.”

The Court further stated that seeking the FSL report would assist the trial court in correctly determining the role of the accused in causing injuries. Hence, denying that application for the FSL report would result in a miscarriage of justice.

Accordingly, the order of the Sessions court denying the application was set aside. The Court directed the FSL report to be prepared and furnished before the Sessions court.

Title: Mohd. Atik Sheikh v State of Rajasthan

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Raj) 176

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