In Brief
The Supreme Court dismissed review petitions challenging a criminal judgment regarding a victim who fell from a moving train. The petitioners argued the Court improperly relied on hearsay evidence (statements by a middle-aged man that the victim had jumped) and that the accused should be convicted of murder for pushing the victim. The Court held that contemporaneous, spontaneous statements falling within the doctrine of res gestae are admissible in circumstantial evidence cases, even if technically hearsay. Since medical evidence showed the initial injury alone could not cause death and the accused's role in causing the fatal injury was doubtful, the Court upheld acquittal and rejected the presumption principles applicable to abetment of suicide.
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