In Brief
In a 44-year-old murder case, the Supreme Court acquitted two persons convicted by lower courts for murder and attempt to murder under IPC Sections 302 and 307 read with Section 34. The Court found that three eyewitnesses had filed affidavits during bail proceedings supporting the accused, but these affidavits were suppressed at trial. The investigating officer failed to investigate these affidavits or file counter-affidavits despite being granted time. The injured witness herself had stated that a different person committed the crime. Finding the prosecution's investigation fundamentally unfair and violating the accused's Article 21 right to fair trial, the Court held it unsafe to convict based solely on the remaining eyewitness's testimony and set aside the conviction.
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