In Brief
In this 2017 judgment, the Supreme Court set aside the High Court's conviction of accused persons for a murder arising from a village land dispute. The High Court had reversed the trial court's acquittal after finding the eyewitness evidence reliable. However, the Supreme Court found that the prosecution's case was riddled with serious contradictions: eyewitnesses gave conflicting accounts of timing, presence, and details; the medical evidence conflicted with ocular accounts; key accused were not named in the initial FIR; and there were significant investigative lapses. The Court held that such fatal contradictions go to the root of the matter and require giving the benefit of doubt to the accused. The acquittal was restored."
The lawyer headnote and full judgment text are available to registered users.