In Brief

Five men were convicted of conspiracy, dacoity, and murder of a taxi driver in 2008 by Tamil Nadu courts. The prosecution relied on circumstantial evidence including an alleged extra-judicial confession, witness sightings, skeletal remains identified through skull superimposition, and alleged sale of the victim's car. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal and acquitted all accused. The Court held that the prosecution failed to establish a complete, unbroken chain of circumstantial evidence. Key defects included: the confession lacked expert handwriting verification, witness statements were recorded six months later with credibility gaps, body identification relied solely on superimposition without DNA evidence, and motive was unproven. The Court emphasized that in circumstantial cases, the chain must exclude all hypotheses except guilt.

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