In Brief
An 86-year-old woman, Devaki, was killed during a burglary at her home in Mangalore. Two men, including accused Ravikumar (whom witnesses knew) and appellant Vishwanatha (a stranger), were allegedly caught strangulating her. The trial court acquitted both; the High Court convicted both. The Supreme Court acquitted the appellant because: (1) he was a stranger to witnesses with no test identification parade conducted; (2) the eyewitness account of how the strangulation occurred contradicted the post-mortem findings (ligature marks were only on the front of the neck, not circling it as described); and (3) the witness's travel account (covering 20 km in 2.5 hours) was implausible. The Court held the prosecution failed to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
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