In Brief
The Supreme Court partly allowed criminal appeals challenging the Delhi High Court's order discharging Shiv Charan Bansal, Lalit Mann, and Shailendra Singh in a murder conspiracy case. The Court held that at the charge-framing stage, grave suspicion founded on material translatable into evidence suffices; direct evidence is unnecessary. In conspiracy cases, circumstantial evidence—including absconding, missing call records, destroyed documents, and weapon possession—is primary proof. The Court directed the trial court to frame charges against the three accused for conspiracy, murder, and criminal intimidation, and directed expedited trial completion within six months, while affirming Rajbir Singh's acquittal.
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