MUMBAI: Nearly 39 years after he was charged with being part of a gang that attacked three people in Sakinaka, the sessions court has acquitted a 58-year-old city resident, citing lack of convincing evidence.
Additional sessions judge Amit A Laulkar acquitted Nasir Ibrahim Dadan of charges of attempt to murder and causing grievous hurt in a knife attack. The trial had lingered for nearly 37 years, during which key witnesses either died or became untraceable.
According to the prosecution, the incident took place on September 30, 1987, when a group of accused allegedly attacked Manor Naidu with a knife in Sakinaka. They later attacked two others, Sayyed Amir and Shankar Tayde, causing serious injuries. At the time, the police registered a first information report (FIR) the next day and filed a chargesheet in 1988.
The trial, however, progressed only decades later. Two of the accused died during the long pendency of the proceedings, while another remained absconding for years before finally being arrested. Charges were eventually framed in August 2025, and the trial began in February 2026.
In its judgment delivered on Friday, the court found that the prosecution’s case had collapsed because it failed to produce the main witnesses. The judge recorded that only one witness, police constable Amit Chowdhary, was examined, and his evidence did not support the prosecution version.
The court noted that Chowdhary’s evidence was found to be based on hearsay. It stressed that the testimony of the injured victims and the complainant were crucial in a case involving allegations of attempted murder, yet the prosecution failed to secure their presence.
“Despite opportunity, due to the old age of the file and crime, the prosecution could not bring the presence of remaining witnesses before the court. It is reported that either the witnesses are untraceable and some of them are expired,” the court noted.
The court also found that other critical pieces of evidence had not been proved. Neither the medical reports nor forensic material were formally exhibited, and the investigating officer was also not examined during the trial.
“None of the vital witnesses are examined so as to fortify the alleged fact that the accused attempted to commit murder… The CA (chemical analysis) report and medical reports are not duly proved in the court. Not only this, the concerned IO (investigating officer) has not been examined to press upon charges,” the judgment recorded.
In these circumstances, the judge said, “Material ingredients of offence posed against the accused are not proved beyond all probable doubts… no offence can be legally sustained without any credible evidence against the accused.”
Consequently, the court acquitted Dadan and cancelled his bail bonds. It also disposed of the case against the absconding accused, observing that there was “not much evidence” to justify continuing the proceedings.