In Brief
The Supreme Court dismissed a plea seeking to reopen the 70-year-old murder conviction of Mahatma Gandhi's assassination. The petitioner, claiming new research discoveries, sought a fresh investigation based on a 'fourth bullet' theory and alleged 'unseen hand' in the conspiracy, and requested review of the Kapur Commission Report. The Court held that concluded criminal cases with confirmed convictions and executed death sentences cannot be reopened without statutory provision. The credible eyewitness evidence from the original trial and appeal establishing three shots by a single assailant remained undisputed. The Court refused to permit reopening merely on academic research or to re-examine historical findings that, while potentially unfair, held no adjudicatory power. The petition was dismissed as an exercise in futility.
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