In Brief
Pavan Vasudeo Sharma was convicted of murdering Bhima Waghmare based on circumstantial evidence involving a recovered mobile phone and a matching service weapon allegedly snatched from a police officer. The Supreme Court reversed the conviction, holding that the prosecution failed to establish a complete chain of circumstantial evidence. The mobile number was subscribed to a third party with no proven link to the deceased; the weapon-snatching theory lacked proper identification documentation (no Test Identification Parade records); and a 15-day gap existed between the alleged theft and murder. Applying the five-principle test from Sharad Birdhichand Sarda, the Court found critical missing links preventing exclusion of reasonable doubt and acquitted the appellant.
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