Cuttack: Orissa High Court has ruled that "emotions have no role to play" in a criminal trial and evidence should be weighed "dispassionately and objectively" while judging whether an accused is guilty or not.

The high court said: "The trial court should not allow suspicion to take the place of legal proof and has to be watchful to avoid the danger of being swayed away by emotional consideration."

The ruling was given on Thursday while setting aside verdict by the court of additional sessions judge (fast track), Aska in an alleged dowry death case in which the husband was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment over 11 years ago.

The high court felt though a young woman had lost her life within a few months of her marriage while she was pregnant and that too while she was staying at her in-laws' house but that itself cannot be a factor to convict the appellant (Rohita Bhuniya).

"Emotions have no role to play in a criminal trial in adjudicating the guilt or otherwise of the accused which is to be established by credible evidence. The crime committed may be cruel or ruthless but the evidence has to be evaluated dispassionately and objectively to see whether the accused is responsible for the said crime or he is innocent," the single-judge bench of Justice S.K. Sahoo observed in the order.

Justice Sahoo felt the reasoning assigned by the trial court in convicting the appellant was based on conjecture and suspicion that had no place as legal proof in a criminal trial.

The judge said: "I am of the view that the impugned verdict is nothing but a sheer moral conviction."

"Analysing the evidence on record meticulously, it is found that the circumstances brought on record by the prosecution have not been fully established and there is no cogent and reliable evidence against the appellant to have committed the crime. The absence of an apparent motive is certainly a relevant factor to be considered in favour of the appellant particularly when the case is based on circumstantial evidence," Justice Sahoo said.

"I hold that the prosecution has miserably failed to establish the charges against the appellant beyond all reasonable doubt. In the result, the jail criminal appeal is allowed. The impugned judgment and order of conviction of the appellant and the sentence passed there under is set aside," Justice Sahoo ruled, while acquitting Rohita of the charges.

"The appellant is acquitted of the charges under sections 498-A/302 of the Indian Penal Code. The appellant who is in jail custody shall be released forthwith unless his detention is required in any other case," the order said.