Mumbai, Apr 15 (PTI) The Bombay High Court on Tuesday upheld the conviction and life sentence handed to two members of underworld don Chhota Rajan’s gang in a 2010 double murder case, saying the trial court’s judgment was a “well reasoned and legally sound”.

The HC noted the prosecution has fairly succeeded in establishing the guilt of the appellants beyond reasonable doubt in a case which largely hinged on testimonies of eyewitnesses, one of whom was the target of a gun attack by four men, but escaped.

A Mumbai court in August 2022 convicted the duo, Mohammed Ali Shaikh and Pranay Rane, for murder, criminal conspiracy and offences under the Arms Act, while acquitting Rajan and two others for lack of evidence.

Shaikh and Rane filed an appeal before the HC against the trial court’s order convicting and sentencing them to life imprisonment in the A division bench of Justices Neela Gokhale and Revati Dere on Tuesday dismissed the appeal filed by the duo and ruled that the conviction and sentence handed to them by the trial court “stands confirmed”.

The bench held the trial court’s judgment was “well reasoned and legally sound”.

“The evidence on record, when assessed in its entirety, establishes the guilt of the appellants beyond reasonable doubt,” it noted.

As per the police, represented by special prosecutor Pradeep Gharat, four men opened fire on Asif Khan, an alleged aide of fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, at a spot near the J J Marg police station in Mumbai on February 13, 2010.

Khan managed to escape with injuries, but two men — Shakeel Modak and Asif Qureshi — who were there to meet him, sustained bullet wounds and died on the spot.

The HC, after hearing both defence and prosecution, noted that the 15-year-old case primarily hinges on testimonies of four eyewitnesses.

On contention of defence pertaining to omissions in testimonies of eyewitnesses, the bench maintained it is a settled position of law that conviction can be based on the testimony of even a single eyewitness.

“There is no rule of law or evidence which says to the contrary, provided that the said witness passes the test of reliability. It is only when the court finds that an eyewitness is a wholly unreliable witness that his testimony is discarded in toto and no amount of corroboration can cure that defect,” it argued.

The court stated that Khan, a key eyewitness, had given a graphic description of the entire incident and his presence on the crime spot cannot be doubted as he was injured in the firing.

“His deposition must be given due weightage and cannot be brushed aside merely on the ground that either he ran away from the spot as he received injuries or the TIP (test identification parade) was allegedly delayed.

“The prosecution has fairly succeeded in establishing the guilt of the appellants beyond reasonable doubt on the basis of the recovery of the weapon, evidence of the medical doctor, panchas (witnesses), and the investigating officer,” the order said. PTI AVI KRK RSY