New Delhi

A Delhi court has convicted a man for attempting to murder a 23-year-old youth by stabbing him with a button-actuated knife, saying that the victim's subsequent refusal to identify his attacker did not erase his initial testimony implicating the accused.

Additional Sessions Judge Sumedh Kumar Sethi convicted Mohammad Arman alias Manu, who was accused of stabbing the victim near his house in October, 2024.

In an order dated October 28, the court said, "The material present on record against the accused is sufficient irrespective of the fact that the said witnesses subsequently resiled/ partially resiled from the statements purportedly given by them to the police."

The case relates to an incident on the night of October 12, 2024, when the victim, Sagar, was allegedly stabbed near his home in Sunder Nagri, northeast Delhi. He suffered grievous injuries to his abdomen and hand and was taken to hospital.

In his initial statement to the police, Sagar alleged that Arman had threatened him over a longstanding dispute with his maternal uncle, Suresh, before attacking him with a knife.

However, while deposing in court, Sagar initially identified Arman but later claimed he could not remember the attacker's face and denied that the accused had stabbed him. Other public witnesses also resiled from their statements to the police.

The court said the victim's initial testimony could not be discarded merely because he subsequently changed his version. It noted that the hospital record also mentioned an assault by a known person, supporting his original account.

"It is not as if the complainant has fabricated these injuries or that these injuries did not occur. The MLC of the complainant is alone enough to prove that the complainant in fact suffered injuries which have been opined as grievous in nature," the judge said.

The court further relied on forensic evidence and the recovery of the blood-stained knife at the instance of the accused shortly after the incident. The DNA profile obtained from blood on the knife matched that of the victim, as did profiles from other exhibits connected with the case.

It also noted that the recovery proceedings had been videographed and the recordings corroborated the investigating officer's account.

READ MORE:Zahid Manzoor turns his disability into a voice against drugs

Rejecting the defence, the court said the evidence established beyond reasonable doubt that Arman had used the knife to inflict the injuries. It held that the victim's change of version could not be used to give the accused the benefit of a deliberate inconsistency.

The court consequently convicted Arman of attempt to murder and using the prohibited knife.