In Brief
The accused was convicted of the murder of Meena Devi (Section 302 IPC), but the High Court acquitted him on the ground that the key witness (the deceased's son) was unreliable due to alleged improvements in his testimony and that no specific motive was established. The Supreme Court reversed this acquittal, holding that the witness's evidence, viewed as a whole in the traumatic circumstances, was credible and consistent with the prosecution case. The Court found a complete chain of circumstantial evidence: motive (frequent quarrels and assaults), the accused's actions (beating and taking the deceased away), homicidal death (autopsy findings), the accused's silence to police about her disappearance, and complete absence of any explanation despite Section 106 burden on house inmates. The conviction under Section 302 IPC and life sentence were restored.
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