In Brief
The appellants, accused of murdering Sahabuddin Choudhury in February 2013, were convicted by the trial court and the conviction was confirmed by the High Court. The Supreme Court set aside the conviction and acquitted the appellants. The Court found three critical defects: first, the High Court confirmed guilt of only four persons, insufficient to constitute an unlawful assembly of five or more required under IPC Section 141 for invoking Section 149; second, the eyewitness evidence was unreliable, with material omissions and contradictions not properly recorded under Section 162 of the CrPC; and third, the theory of 'last seen together' failed because after being seen with the appellants at 4 p.m., the deceased attended a Congress meeting with other persons, breaking the causal chain. The Court ruled that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
The lawyer headnote and full judgment text are available to registered users.