Identification by showing photos is not valid: Court

TNN / Updated: Apr 14, 2025, 00:17 IST

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Identification by showing photos is not valid: Court

Panaji: Contrary to the established framework of holding a test identification parade to prove the evidence against the accused, Goa police have asserted that there was no point in holding an identification parade of the accused if photos of the accused are shown to witnesses.
Recently, in connection with the murder of Vasco resident Gayatri Marathe, police showed photos of the accused to witnesses, but the court observed that identification by showing photographs is not valid. The murder case could not stand at the time of framing of charges in court.
Police said that the CCTV footage near the house of the deceased on the day of the offence was verified, and it was seen that two suspects were present around the house. The CCTV footage was obtained, and the photographs of the suspects were also developed.
“The CCTV footage and photographs were shown to various persons around the house of the deceased, wherein two witnesses identified the suspected accused persons, mentioning that they had seen them around the house of the deceased woman,�?police said.

“Soon after the commission of the offence, the suspected persons absconded and remained absconding for more than a month. Since the CCTV footage and the photographs were shown to the witnesses during the course of the investigation and recording their statements, there was no point in holding the test identification parade,�?police said in a reply in the recently concluded legislative assembly session.
TOI reported that in an unusual investigation of a murder case, Goa police were exposed at all levels, including the investigation and its monitoring by superiors, as the murder case could not stand at the time of framing of charges in court.
Goa police failed to prove the motive behind the murder of Marathe. Additionally, police did not conduct an identification parade of the accused and merely relied on CCTV footage, which was not clearly visible. Goa police did not even take the opinion of the directorate of prosecution before filing the chargesheet in court. The footage was viewed in the court in the presence of the public prosecutor, the advocate for the accused, and the investigating officer, who explained the footage that was obtained.
“It may be stated that the investigating officer has pointed out in the said footage two persons moving around the vicinity, which, according to the investigating officer, is very close to the house of the deceased,�?the court observed. “It is noted that the faces of the two persons cannot be seen clearly and hence it cannot be said that the two persons seen in the footage are the accused.�?br/>

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