In Brief
Shabbir and Ravi Mandal were convicted of murdering Chhotu in a forest at night. The Supreme Court overturned their convictions, holding that the prosecution failed to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The two main eyewitnesses were unreliable: one delayed disclosure by over three months without adequate explanation, and both made suspicious appearances at the crime scene. The alleged recovery of the murder weapon lacked public witnesses and proper procedure. Critically, ballistic evidence linking the recovered pistol to cartridges at the scene was never presented to the accused for response. The Court found the prosecution case evolved progressively with suspicious changes in narrative, suggesting investigative guesswork rather than credible evidence. The appellants were acquitted and released.
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