In Brief
The Supreme Court examined whether evidence from one separate criminal trial could be used to decide appeals in another separate trial involving different accused for the same offence. Two separate trials under the Customs Act resulted in acquittals, but the High Court issued a common conviction judgment based on evidence from only one trial. The Court held that evidence recorded in one trial is confined to that trial's accused and cannot be used for co-accused tried separately, as this violates fair trial principles. The Court set aside the High Court's judgment and remanded both appeals for fresh decision, emphasizing that each case must be decided independently on its own evidence."
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