In Brief

Three men were convicted of kidnapping, gang rape, and murder of a young woman in Delhi in 2012. The case rested entirely on circumstantial evidence including DNA analysis, recovered articles, and alleged police recoveries. The Supreme Court acquitted all three accused, finding that the prosecution failed to prove their guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Critical failures included: no identification of the accused by eyewitnesses, improper admission of police confessions, doubts about evidence integrity and collection, unproven DNA methodology, and insufficient cross-examination at trial. The Court held that even in heinous cases, conviction requires a complete chain of circumstantial evidence; here, multiple gaps and contradictions meant the standard was not met. The victim's family remain entitled to compensation under law.",

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