Delhi Police have been caught on the wrong foot by a city court which has criticised it for planting a "stock witness" in a trial to seek conviction for the three accused in a murder case.
The three were acquitted of the charges later for want of evidence.
Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Sanjay Sharma took strong exception to the fact that one Dharmender Sharma, an alleged eye witness in the murder case, was unduly favoured in his appointment in the prosecution branch soon after deposing against the accused.
"This amply shows that he (Sharma) was rewarded for the favours made by him to the police and it is clear that he has been a person who was available to them any time he was called and continues to serve so," ASJ said in an order last week.
The defence had earlier alleged that Sharma could be declared as a "stock witness", a term coined by the apex court to categorise a few alleged witnesses, who depose falsely in favour of the prosecution as and when called and had further corroborated it with the fact that he served as an eye witness in various other cases as well for the prosecution.
Accepting the arguments of the defence, the court said "Sharma is a witness who has come at the beck and call of the police and has rightly been termed as a stock witness."
{{/usCountry}}Accepting the arguments of the defence, the court said "Sharma is a witness who has come at the beck and call of the police and has rightly been termed as a stock witness."
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