In Brief
Three men were convicted of murder under sections 302, 148 and 149 IPC for allegedly participating in an attack that killed Babu Singh. The appellants appealed, arguing they were not present at the scene. The Supreme Court allowed the appeals after finding that the initial complaint (Dehati Nalishi) recorded at the spot did not name any of the three appellants. The main eyewitness (PW-5), though present and able to identify some accused, had omitted the appellants' names from his police statement. Without plausible explanation for these critical omissions, the Court held that grave doubt existed regarding their presence and acquitted them on the ground that the benefit of doubt must go to the accused.
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