In Brief
The appellant was convicted of murder (Section 302 IPC) on the basis of a dying declaration by the victim, alleged motive, and his voluntary appearance at the police station in bloodstained clothes. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, finding the dying declaration had been tampered with (a name struck off and replaced), was likely fabricated after the fact, and could not have been coherently made by a victim with 24 severe stab wounds who was semi-conscious. The Court found the alleged motive—anger over the victim's illicit relationship—was unsubstantiated because the accused had consented to and tolerated that relationship for years. The prosecution's claim of voluntary confession at the police station was rejected as an afterthought, as no crime was registered when the accused allegedly arrived. With all three pillars of the prosecution case found defective, the Court held guilt had not been proved beyond reasonable doubt and acquitted the appellant.
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