In Brief
Pooranmal was convicted along with his co-accused Ladu Lal for the 2010 murder of Aruna in Rajasthan, based on circumstantial evidence: call records between them, a blood-stained shirt recovered from Pooranmal, and cash found in his possession. The Supreme Court allowed Pooranmal's appeal 14 years later, distinguishing his case from Ladu Lal's. While Ladu Lal (the husband) bore a reverse burden under evidence law to explain the death in his home, Pooranmal had no such burden. The Court found the prosecution's evidence fatally weak: the currency notes were unreliable with accounting discrepancies, the shirt's chain of custody was broken and unverified, and crucially, the call records lacked mandatory certification and were inadmissible. The Court held that guilt could not rest on mere conjecture and acquitted Pooranmal.
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