In Brief
This case involved a murder conviction based solely on an extrajudicial confession. Two boys were reported missing in June 1989. The police case rested on the accused's alleged confession to multiple witnesses that he had murdered them by strangulation and buried their bodies. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal and acquitted the accused. The Court found the confession unreliable because: the witnesses had inconsistent stories about where and when it occurred; there was no evidence of any prior relationship between the accused and witnesses suggesting implicit trust; several alleged present witnesses were not examined by the prosecution; and no other corroborating evidence was presented. The Court held that such defects in the prosecution's extrajudicial confession evidence could not sustain a murder conviction.
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