Moot Problem Vidhitaksh - 2024

VIDHITAKSH 2024
4th NATIONAL MOOT COURT COMPETITION

Meghna, a 21-year-old lady, is a resident of Tripsul District in Kairali State, one of the
provinces in the Union of Dustan. She is a regular passenger of the Dragon passenger
train running between Alvathur and Tripsul. On 01-11- 2011, she travelled from
Alvathur to Tripsul and was found in an unconscious state in the woods near the Tripsul
Railway Station around 9-30 p.m. She was taken to Government Medical College
Hospital, Tripsul, where she succumbed to injuries around 3 pm. on 05-11-2011.
On November 8, the police took into custody accused Prasad, 30, of Thamboorni
Vishvanagari who is a habitual offender and previously convicted by courts. According
to the prosecution, he tried to rob Meghna in the women's compartment. He smashed
her head against the wall when she resisted, pushed her hands into the gap of a closing
door, and threw her out of the train. He jumped out of the speeding train, and walked
200 metres to find her lying in a pool of blood. He carried her to woods near the rail
track and raped her. DNA samples collected from the site of the crime and the victim's
body were compared with the suspect's samples. A button on his shirt was found in the
woman's compartment. Traces of his semen were found in the victim's body and clothes.
Her fingernails had traces of his skin cells and blood. Fingernail marks were also found
on his body.
A few people saw the accused in the passenger train and few people noticed him near
the Tripsul bus stop. The cries of a woman were also heard by a few passengers of the
train and also by the people who lived near the Tripsul Railway station. During the
medical examination, the accused confessed to Dr. Vishnu of Government Medical
College Hospital, Tripsul that he had committed the rape with the victim. Also, meghna's
cell phone was recovered from a person named Babu of Disapur District. He had bought
it from Prasad/accused.
During the police investigation, it was found that a few days before the incident, the
accused had tried to tease a girl named Iqra, one of the friends of the victim in her
presence, at the Tripsul bus stop. The victim has objected to this act of the accused. As
a result of this, the accused threatened and scolded both of them for the dire
consequences, if they complained to the police. The girls did not surrender to the threat
and they filed a complaint against the accused at Tripsul Police Station and the police
registered an FIR against the accused and the police investigation was going into this
matter.
Forensic surgeon, Dr. Isha who conducted the post-mortem stated before the court about
20 injuries in the body, and the death is mainly the result of joint result of injuries no.1
& 2. She opined clearly that the first injury, "Lacerated wound with a surrounding
abraded contusion left side of the forehead, abraded contusion on the left side of the
forehead above eyebrow, abraded contusion on right side of the forehead just above the
eyebrow and contusion of the left temporalis muscle, involving its whole thickness. The
left orbital margin showed a fissured fracture. The floor of the left side of the anterior
cranial fossa also showed fracture. There is traumatic disruption of the stem of the
pituitary gland and left frontal lobe of the brain showed multiple areas of haemorrhage
", is out of the hitting of her head at the wall of the compartment of the train. The second
injury, because of aspiration of the considerable amount of blood resulted in anoxic brain
damage, arising out of committing rape in the supine position.
Out of the other witnesses, two witnesses who travelled in the next compartment of the
women's compartment deposed that they heard the sound of struggles and cries of the
lady and heard from another person that a lady "jumped" from the train.
At the conclusion of the final hearing in trial court, the prosecution stated that this case
should be considered as a rarest of rare in the light of scientific and circumstantial
evidence. The absence of eyewitnesses should not be a hiatus in awarding maximum
punishment "as the man had no qualm of conscience in committing rape and murder
together".
The trial court found the accused guilty of section 376 and section 302 of the Dustan
Penal Code and awarded him a death sentence for murder and life imprisonment for the
offense of rape. On appeal by the accused, the High Court confirmed the judgment of
the trial court. Aggrieved by the judgment of the High Court, the accused filed a criminal
appeal before the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court partly allowed the appeal and
exonerated the accused from the charge of murder with the observation that the
prosecution failed to prove that the lady was thrown out of the train by the accused and
also failed to prove that the accused has the mens rea to cause the injury no.2 and which
subsequently resulted in the death of the victim. The Supreme Court modified the
judgment by convicting him under section 325 instead of section 302 and upheld the
punishment under section 376, of Dustan Penal Code. Aggrieved by the order, the state
filed a review petition before the Supreme Court not to uphold the charge of murder
against the accused.
ISSUE RAISED
1 Whether the review petition is maintainable or not?
2. Whether the court's decision acquitting the accused from the charge of section 302 of
D.P.C, stating lack of mens rea, is justifiable?
3. Whether circumstantial evidence and expert opinion is sufficient to convict a person
for the charge of murder?
Note: All laws in force in the Union of Dustan are pari materia with the Union of India.
WITNESSES TO BE PROVIDED
1. Investigating Officer
2. Forensic Surgeon
3. Iqra (friend of victim)

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VIDHITAKSH 2024

4th NATIONAL MOOT COURT COMPETITION

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