In Brief
Two men, Santosh and Neeraj, were convicted of murdering Hari Shankar based on circumstantial evidence. The High Court acquitted Neeraj but upheld Santosh's conviction. The Supreme Court reversed both, acquitting Santosh as well. The Court held that the prosecution failed to prove a complete chain of incriminating circumstances. Though the apartment was in Santosh's tenancy and the victim died from homicidal wounds there, the prosecution proved neither that Santosh was present at the time of murder nor that he had exclusive control of the premises. The evidence of the suicide letter being written by Neeraj, while technically admissible, was insufficient without corroborating internal or external evidence. The recoveries of the knife and blood-stained clothes pursuant to disputed disclosure statements were not proved beyond reasonable doubt. The Court held that mere presence of a body in an accused's apartment, without evidence of presence at the probable time of crime or motive, cannot sustain a murder conviction.
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