In Brief
Bernard Lyngdoh Phawa was convicted of murder and evidence-tampering by Meghalaya High Court, which reversed his trial court acquittal based on circumstantial evidence including alleged "last seen together" claims, recovered possessions, and confessional statements. The Supreme Court examined whether the evidence met strict standards for circumstantial convictions. It found the prosecution's chain of evidence seriously flawed: the "last seen" theory lacked proper proof, identifications were questionable, recovered items couldn't be definitively linked to the crime, forensic analysis was inconclusive, and confessional statements were internally inconsistent, inadequately recorded, and made without proper legal safeguards. The Court held that such gaps and contradictions undermined the prosecution case. Reversing the High Court's conviction, the Supreme Court restored the trial court's acquittal, emphasizing that circumstantial evidence must form a complete, unbroken chain before overturning an acquittal.
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