In Brief
Pavan Vasudeo Sharma was convicted of murdering Bhima Waghmare based on circumstantial evidence: a service weapon recovered from him that matched the fatal bullet, and a mobile phone allegedly belonging to the deceased. The Supreme Court acquitted him, finding critical gaps. The mobile phone was subscribed by Sanjay S. Roy, not the deceased, with no proven link between them. The weapon snatching lacked corroboration—no Test Identification Parade was conducted or documented. Applying the established principles for circumstantial evidence cases, the Court held these circumstances did not exclude reasonable doubt and therefore gave the appellant the benefit of doubt.
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