Meghalaya HC acquits one in 2014 Jowai murder, upholds co-accused's life term

The Meghalaya High Court has acquitted one of the two convicts in the 2014 murder of Prodis Nangbah, ruling that the prosecution failed to establish his involvement beyond reasonable doubt, while upholding the life sentence of the co-accused based on the testimony of two child eyewitnesses and supporting medical evidence.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice W. Diengdoh delivered the judgment on July 15 while deciding two connected criminal appeals challenging the conviction and sentence passed by the Sessions Judge, West Jaintia Hills, in March and April 2024.

The trial court had convicted Belting Tyngkra and Salbinal Nangbah under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced them to life imprisonment. A third accused, Chalbinal, died during the trial.

According to the prosecution, Prodis Nangbah was attacked at his home in the early hours of May 6, 2014, after refusing to reopen his shop to sell cigarettes. His children, who were present inside the house, witnessed the assault and later gave statements during the investigation as well as before the trial court.

The High Court held that the evidence against Salbinal Nangbah was reliable and sufficiently corroborated by medical findings. Referring to the testimony of the deceased's son and daughter, the court noted that there was "no cross-examination with respect to the actual assault" and found their evidence to be "credible, trustworthy and without blemish", adding that it inspired confidence.

Rejecting the defence's argument that no Test Identification Parade (TIP) was conducted, the Bench observed that Salbinal was known to both eyewitnesses as he belonged to the same village. It further held that even though there was no electricity in the village that night, identification in candlelight was plausible because the accused was already familiar to the witnesses.

The court also dismissed the contention that the child witnesses were "interested witnesses", observing that they were natural witnesses as they were present in the house when the attack took place. It found no material suggesting any motive for them to falsely implicate Salbinal.

However, the Bench reached a different conclusion regarding Belting Tyngkra. It noted that the deceased's son neither named nor identified Belting, while the daughter also failed to identify him in court. The prosecution, the court said, had "failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt" against Belting.

Allowing Belting's appeal, the High Court quashed his conviction and ordered that he be released immediately if not required in any other case. It also directed that any fine deposited by him be refunded. At the same time, it dismissed Salbinal Nangbah's appeal, confirming his conviction and life sentence.

The Bench further directed the Secretary of the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), West Jaintia Hills, to submit a report within eight weeks stating whether the trial court's recommendation to award ₹3 lakh compensation to the family of the deceased had been implemented. The matter has been listed for compliance on September 3, 2026.