In Brief
Gupteswar Behera was convicted of murder in a rioting context under Sections 148, 149 read with Section 302 IPC, largely based on dying declarations allegedly made to his brother and others. The Supreme Court examined whether the deceased could have survived long enough to make these statements given the nature of his injuries. Medical evidence indicated death occurred within ten minutes of the assault. Since the brother was not present at the scene and had to travel there after receiving information, and the investigating officer arrived even later, the Court found it extremely doubtful the deceased survived to make dying declarations to these witnesses. With the eye-witness account also rejected by the High Court, the conviction was set aside and benefit of doubt was granted to the accused.
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