In Brief
A 2.5-year-old child, Master Hrithik, went missing in Hubli in 2002. His father (PW-1) later alleged that the appellant (his brother) confessed to murdering the child and throwing his body in a well. The trial court acquitted the appellant, finding the sole evidence—an extra-judicial confession—unreliable due to contradictions and the failure to examine corroborating witnesses (the mother and wife). The High Court reversed the acquittal, relying on the confession. The Supreme Court restored the acquittal, holding that the confession bore multiple grave inconsistencies, the witness PW-1 was untrustworthy, and the circumstantial evidence failed to form a coherent chain. The Court held that when two possible views exist on evidence, especially after acquittal, they must be resolved in favour of the accused.
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