In Brief
A young woman, Kamla Rani, was shot dead and robbed by two armed miscreants while returning home with her brother-in-law, Surendra Kumar. Her husband Ramveer and brother-in-law Surendra were convicted of murder and conspiracy based on circumstantial evidence, allegedly motivated by the husband's unhappiness with her appearance. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, holding that the prosecution failed to establish a complete chain of circumstantial evidence and improperly shifted the burden of proof to the accused. The court found the motive evidence unreliable without corroboration, rejected the conspiracy theory for lack of evidence of meeting of minds, and ruled that the appellants' post-incident conduct was consistent with innocence. Both appellants were acquitted and released.
The lawyer headnote and full judgment text are available to registered users.