In Brief
A man was convicted by the High Court of subjecting his wife to cruelty and abetting her suicide by firearm, based partly on her relatives' testimony and an alleged suicide letter. The Supreme Court set aside the conviction and restored his acquittal, finding the prosecution had failed to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The relatives' allegations were vague, made only after inquest, and unsubstantiated by neighbours. Critically, the suicide letter lacked proper authentication, was delayed in being provided to police, and the witnesses identifying the handwriting had no other writing samples for comparison. Without such corroboration, the evidence was insufficient to overcome the presumption of innocence.
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