In Brief
The appellant was convicted in 1997 of murdering Arun Kumar under Section 302 IPC (with the aid of Section 34 IPC, which punishes common intention) based on two key facts: that he exhorted his brother to kill the victim, and that he held the victim while his brother stabbed him. The Supreme Court found that these two critical incriminating circumstances were never put to the appellant during his mandatory examination under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure—a safeguard meant to let an accused explain the case against him. Since the conviction rested entirely on these un-examined facts and 29 years had passed since the incident (with the appellant already imprisoned 12 years), the Court set aside the conviction as a patent illegality and blatant miscarriage of justice, acquitting the appellant and ordering his immediate release.
The lawyer headnote and full judgment text are available to registered users.