In Brief
On 28 September 1990, Ramesh was fatally assaulted in village Chak, Madhya Pradesh, by ten accused including Kannaiya. The trial court convicted Kannaiya, Govardhan, Raja Ram, and Bhima under Sections 302/34 IPC; six others were acquitted. The High Court affirmed the conviction. The Supreme Court found the prosecution's case rested entirely on two eyewitnesses (Madho Singh and Puniya) whose testimonies were materially contradictory regarding the location and genesis of the incident, mutually denied each other's presence, and contradicted the FIR and site inspection plan. One witness was wholly unreliable; the other, partially reliable but without corroborative evidence. The Court held conviction unsafe and acquitted all four men, emphasizing that contradictory and improbable eyewitness testimony cannot sustain criminal conviction.
The lawyer headnote and full judgment text are available to registered users.