In Brief
In this capital case, the appellants were convicted of murdering five women and robbery, primarily based on circumstantial evidence. The Supreme Court set aside the death sentence and acquitted them. The main evidence was the uncorroborated testimony of a 9-year-old child witness who did not see the actual crime, supplemented by disputed forensic findings, an unreliably recovered motorcycle, and weak last-seen-together evidence with substantial time gaps. The Court found material inconsistencies, missing crucial witnesses, unexplained delays in reporting, and weak forensic chain of custody. It held that in capital cases, proof beyond reasonable doubt requires clear, cogent evidence, not suspicion. The Court emphasized that child witness testimony requires strong corroboration, article recoveries must show genuine crime connection, and last-seen-together evidence alone cannot sustain conviction.
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