In Brief
Dev Kanya Tiwari was convicted of murdering her son-in-law in a trial based on circumstantial evidence and post-mortem findings of strangulation. The Supreme Court allowed her appeal, holding that the conviction was unsafe. The deceased's wife had filed a complaint indicating he died by poisoning, and multiple independent witnesses supported this narrative. Although the post-mortem report noted strangulation marks, the doctor failed to preserve viscera despite clear indication of poisoning. The Court found the chain of circumstances incomplete, the medical evidence ambiguous, and insufficient evidence of strangulation or poisoning. It held that when two views are reasonably possible, the benefit of doubt must favour the accused.
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