HC: Lawyer's Help in FIR Doesn't Affect Credibility

The Allahabad High Court has affirmed that an FIR's validity isn't undermined by legal assistance during its preparation, delivering a key ruling in an acid attack case.

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has held that credibility of an FIR cannot be doubted merely because it is prepared with the assistance of a lawyer.

With this observation, the court upheld a person's conviction, though it reduced his sentence from life imprisonment to 14-year jail in an acid attack case in which two women had lost their lives.

A bench of Justice Rajesh Singh Chauhan and Justice A K Chaudhary passed the verdict on February 27 on the plea of Jagdamba Harijan of Pratapgarh.

The sessions court in Pratapgarh had sentenced the appellant to life imprisonment for culpable homicide by acid attack on two women.

Arguments and Court's Reasoning

The appellant's primary argument was that the FIR was filed two days later and was prepared with the assistance of a private lawyer, making the report untrue.

However, the high court rejected this argument and clarified that the preparation of an FIR with the assistance of a lawyer does not automatically affect its credibility.

The court stated that while legal assistance is permissible in every criminal proceeding, seeking assistance at the time of filing an FIR is also normal and should not cast doubt on the veracity of any facts.

"The evidence on record demonstrates that witness statements, and medical and forensic reports supported the prosecution case," the bench said.

However, the court reduced the sentence from life imprisonment to 14 years imprisonment. It also noted that the appellant had already spent 13 years, 9 months and 24 days in prison.