In Brief
A man was convicted and sentenced to death for murdering his wife and four young daughters with a sharp weapon, based on circumstantial evidence including discovery of the weapon and alleged extra-judicial confessions. The Supreme Court allowed his appeal and acquitted him. The Court found the discovery evidence legally deficient because the investigating officer failed to prove the accused's exact statement and did not establish that the accused himself concealed the weapon. It also rejected the extra-judicial confessions as fabricated, as the accused could not have been at multiple locations simultaneously while in police custody. The motive (desire to remarry) was found insufficient to sustain conviction. The Court stressed that conviction requires a complete, unbroken chain of circumstances excluding all innocent explanations, and criticised the inadequate legal representation provided to the indigent accused, emphasising the State's constitutional duty to ensure effective, meaningful legal aid.
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