In Brief
In this 2008 dacoity-murder case, a family was killed and their home looted. The sole survivor, a five-year-old child, was the main prosecution witness. The Supreme Court set aside convictions of three accused because the child's court testimony had material inconsistencies with his investigative statement, and critical details were not mentioned by other witnesses or in the FIR. Fingerprint evidence from glasses, with no proof of proper procedure or the expert's competence, was held insufficient alone to sustain conviction. The Court held that fingerprint evidence is corroborative only and requires substantive evidence. All three appellants were acquitted and set at liberty.
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