Bengaluru: The Karnataka high court has held that admission of guilt by some accused through plea bargaining under Section 265E of the CrPC does not prejudice the right of other accused persons to contest the case.In a judgment dated Sept 16, Justice V Srishananda observed that such apprehensions are hypothetical and untenable in law. The court noted that the prosecution must independently establish the guilt of the remaining accused with cogent evidence, even in cases involving allegations of conspiracy.The judge further said that plea bargaining by some accused does not relieve the prosecution of its obligation to prove charges against others. These settled principles of criminal jurisprudence, he observed, cannot be diluted merely because certain accused have opted for plea bargaining.The observations came while dismissing a petition filed by Chittathad Das, who challenged a trial court order allowing three co-accused to avail plea bargaining and deleting charges against them. Das argued that the order was prejudicial to his defence.Rejecting the contention, Justice Srishananda said a co-accused cannot prevent others from availing the statutory benefit of plea bargaining under Section 265E.The court also clarified that an accused seeking to become an approver under Section 306 of the CrPC stands on a different footing from one seeking plea bargaining. While plea bargaining enables an accused to admit guilt and seek a lesser sentence before the conclusion of trial, probation is considered only after conviction, the court observed.
