In Brief
The State of Rajasthan appealed the High Court's acquittal of an accused charged with murder (Section 302 IPC) and house breaking (Section 460 IPC) in the death of Santosh. The trial court had convicted him based on testimony from child eyewitnesses. The Supreme Court upheld the acquittal, finding that the child witnesses gave conflicting accounts of the victim's position and failed to specify when the incident occurred. Multiple material contradictions in prosecution witnesses' statements, absence of independent witnesses, and unexplained forensic discrepancies created reasonable doubt. The Court held that when contradictions in prosecution evidence prove fatal to its case, the accused is entitled to the benefit of doubt.
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