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Supreme Court of India 2021-02-12 dismissed

The State of Odisha vs Banabihari Mohapatra and Anr

Bench: 2 — Indira Banerjee, Hemant Gupta

In Brief

The State of Odisha challenged the High Court's dismissal of its appeal against the acquittal of two accused persons charged with murdering a deceased through electric shock. The State contended the High Court erred in rejecting the appeal solely on grounds of 41-day delay, despite serious murder charges. The Supreme Court dismissed the petition, holding the Trial Court's acquittal was justified. The prosecution's circumstantial evidence was incomplete and based on suspicion rather than proof. The post-mortem report suggested the death was likely accidental—the intoxicated deceased may have accidentally touched a live wire. Courts interfere with acquittals only for perversity, which did not exist here.

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Criminal Procedure Evidence — Circumstantial Evidence Murder Appeal Against Acquittal Presumption of Innocence Burden of Proof

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