In Brief
In September 2012, a 12-year-old girl was raped and murdered in Uttar Pradesh. Two men were convicted and one was awarded death penalty based on circumstantial evidence and DNA reports. The Supreme Court acquitted both, finding the investigation lackluster and the evidence unreliable. Key failures included: absence of proper chain of custody for forensic samples, contradictory DNA reports without expert examination, unsubstantiated recovery of articles, and lack of documentation. The Court held that ordinary conduct like washing hands cannot be incriminating, and absence of credible evidence requires acquittal under the principle of reasonable doubt in circumstantial cases.
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