In Brief
The appellant was convicted by the trial court of murdering his wife, who was found hanging by a plastic rope. The High Court upheld the conviction and life sentence. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal and acquitted the appellant. The Court found that the prosecution failed to prove homicidal hanging beyond reasonable doubt. There was no evidence that the victim was rendered unconscious before strangulation, no signs of struggle or violence on the body, and no evidence of a companion assisting in the killing. The mere presence of ligature marks could not establish homicide in the absence of corroborating evidence. Benefit of doubt must go to the accused.
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