New Delhi, Nov 30 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Monday upheld the order of a lower court acquitting a youth for the murder of a girl at the Delhi zoo in 2004.
Appreciating the trial court’s judgement in the case, a division bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Ajit Bharihoke said: “The trial court has considered each and every aspect in a well reasoned judgement and due weightage has to be given to the view of the trial court in matters of appreciation of evidence, keeping in mind that it is the appeal of the state against the acquittal by the trial court.”

Delhi Police had filed an appeal against the trial court order of 2007, in which Nikhil Chaudhary was absolved of the charges of murdering Kanchan.

“In the present case, we find that the test laid down to connect an accused to the crime where circumstantial evidence is the basis of the case of the prosecution have not been satisfied,” observed the bench.

The court also dismissed the appeal filed by the father of the girl challenging the acquittal of Chaudhary.

The trial court also pulled up Delhi Police for “shoddy investigation” in the case.

“Chaudhary, who was accused of murdering his friend and neighbour Kanchan in the zoo three years ago, was helped by the fact that the police failed to produce the parking slip or the counter-slip of the slip issued to him when he allegedly parked his bike in the zoo parking minutes before the murder,” observed the trial court.

Absolving Chaudhary of the murder charges, the judge had blamed the prosecution for not citing any of the parking lot attendants as witness, leaving a crucial missing link in the circumstantial evidence.

The court said the prosecution had claimed there was blood on both sides of the blade of the razor recovered from the zoo at Chaudhary’s instance. But the report of a forensic lab, where the weapon was sent for examination, said human blood was not detected on the razor.