In Brief
Two children aged 6 and 7 disappeared in January 2013 from Uttar Pradesh. They were the grandsons of a woman to whom their great-uncle Zoraver had bequeathed property, causing the accused (Zoraver's nephew) to harbour grievance. Ransom calls were made from a mobile number, and dead bodies were recovered from the accused's compound. The trial court convicted him under Section 302 IPC for murder, but the High Court acquitted him, holding that killing the children would not have benefitted him. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, holding that the motive was revenge (not property gain), the SIM card and ransom calls were reliable evidence, and the accused's silence about bodies in his compound was damning. Conviction was restored but sentence reduced from death to life imprisonment.
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