In Brief
The appellant was convicted of murder under Section 302 IPC (read with Section 34) by the trial court and the High Court for allegedly shooting the deceased in a property dispute on 27 April 2001. On appeal, the Supreme Court found that the prosecution's case rested heavily on one unreliable witness (PW15, an ex-police constable with a questionable background) whose account contradicted other prosecution witnesses who had not been declared hostile or re-examined. The recovery of the firearm lacked proper documentation, and the FSL ballistics report contained unexplained contradictions. The Court held that the uncontroverted evidence of prosecution witnesses actually favoured the defence, making it binding on the prosecution, and that the prosecution failed to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The conviction was set aside and the appellant was acquitted.
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