27 May,2026 12:34 PM IST | Thane | mid-day online correspondent
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A court in Maharashtra's Thane district has acquitted an absconding couple in a 37-year-old attempt to murder case, observing that the prolonged delay in the trial left the prosecution without witnesses and with severely damaged case records that had become unreadable, reported PTI.
Additional Sessions Judge P R Ashturkar of the Kalyan sessions court passed the order on Monday, acquitting Lalitmohan Devendranath Duggal and his wife Rita Lalitmohan Duggal in the decades-old case.
The couple had been booked under Sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code in connection with an alleged acid attack on their neighbour in Ulhasnagar on April 6, 1989, reported PTI.
According to the prosecution, the alleged attack stemmed from a dispute related to garbage disposal between neighbours.
The murder case was initially registered by the Vitthalwadi police and later transferred from the district court to the Kalyan sessions court in 1996.
Court records showed that the case remained pending for almost 30 years after the accused allegedly jumped bail and went absconding.
Acting on directions from the Bombay High Court to prioritise old pending matters, the sessions court recently initiated proceedings against the missing accused by issuing a proclamation and recording formal police testimony under Section 299 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which permits recording evidence in the absence of absconding accused persons, reported PTI.
The court eventually delivered its final judgment on May 25.
In its order, the court noted that the prosecution was unable to trace any of the witnesses connected to the case due to the passage of time.
"Considering the span of almost 37 years since the incident took place, the prosecution must have lost trace of every single witness," the judge observed.
The Thane court further stated that the condition of the records had deteriorated significantly over the years, reported PTI.
"So also, as the record is very old, it is very hard even to handle the pages. All the documents are torn and cannot even be read," the order stated.
The prosecution failed to locate the complainant, identified as Susan George Mike, her relatives, or any independent witnesses connected to the case.
The only witness examined during the proceedings was police constable Gopal Jayram Savale, who formally testified that none of the accused persons named in the chargesheet could be located, reported PTI.
The court noted that there was "absolutely nothing on record" to indicate the involvement or active participation of the accused in the alleged offence.
Judge Ashturkar also pointed out that the whereabouts of the accused had remained unknown for more than three decades and there appeared to be no realistic possibility of tracing them in the near future.
The court observed that extending the proceedings any further would be futile as neither evidence nor witnesses were available anymore.
"There is no evidence against them. No purpose would be served by keeping the matter lingering, expecting the presence of the accused. It would be a futile exercise without any outcome," the court said while acquitting the couple, reported PTI.
The court also ordered the cancellation of the accused persons' old bail bonds.
Additionally, it directed that the seized weapon in the case, a knife, be handed over to the District Magistrate for legal disposal in accordance with procedure.
(With inputs from PTI)
