In Brief
The appellant was convicted of murdering Narayan Singh based primarily on the recovery of a pistol (disclosed by a co-accused) whose ballistic match to the murder bullet was established. The Supreme Court set aside the conviction, holding that while circumstantial evidence may support guilt, it must form a complete chain excluding all innocent hypotheses. Here, the pistol's discovery merely showed the appellant knew of its location—not that he committed the murder. Without eyewitnesses or corroborating evidence directly linking him to the actual crime, the prosecution failed to prove guilt for murder beyond reasonable doubt, though he may be liable under other provisions.
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