In Brief
On 27 June 1995, forest officials intercepted a bullock cart allegedly carrying stolen teak wood. An altercation ensued during which forest officers were assaulted, and one officer (R.L. Patagar) died the next day from head injuries. The trial court acquitted all four accused. The High Court reversed this, convicting them under IPC sections 304-II, 324, 353, 379, and 411. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal and acquitted all accused, finding material contradictions in prosecution evidence (including a 2-year delay in identifying accused without test identification parade), procedural lapses in investigation, and improbabilities in the prosecution narrative that created reasonable doubt about their guilt.
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