In Brief
Two appellants were convicted of murdering a 10+2 student, Devinder, and sentenced to life imprisonment based on circumstantial evidence. The conviction relied on the 'last seen' theory, an extra-judicial confession to a relative, motive (finding their sister with the deceased), and recovery of a scarf. The Supreme Court set aside the conviction, finding no positive ocular evidence of the accused being seen with the deceased; the extra-judicial confession witness was unreliable with undisclosed family ties to the victim; the alleged motive was never corroborated as the key witness (the sister) was not examined; and the recovered weapon was from an accessible place. The Court held the evidence was appreciated perversely against its weight and acquitted the appellants, granting them the benefit of doubt.
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