In Brief
A woman committed suicide by jumping from a bridge after being harassed for dowry by her husband's family. The trial court convicted the appellant (the deceased's father-in-law) of cruelty and assault. However, the Supreme Court found that the sole conviction evidence was the father's testimony that his wife told him the appellant beat their daughter—yet the mother never testified to witnessing such violence. With no corroboration and the appellant in the same position as other acquitted family members, the Court acquitted him, holding that uncorroborated hearsay cannot sustain a criminal conviction.
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