The SC said on Thursday when acquitting a man in a murder case that an accused cannot be convicted on the ground of suspicion, no matter how strong that suspicion may be.
A bench of Justices B R Gavai and P S Narasimha said an accused is presumed to be innocent unless proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
“It is settled law that the suspicion, however strong it may be, cannot take the place of proof beyond reasonable doubt. An accused cannot be convicted on the ground of suspicion, no matter how strong it is,” the bench said.
The apex court said in the present case, the prosecution has utterly failed to establish the chain of events which can be said to exclusively lead to the one and only conclusion, i.e., the guilt of the accused.
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“In that view of the matter, we find that the judgment and order of the learned sessions judge and that of the high court are not sustainable,” the bench said.
Advocate Rishi Malhotra, appearing for the man, submitted that from the perusal of the postmortem report, it is clear that it is not proved beyond reasonable doubt that the dead body on which the postmortem was conducted was of deceased.
The additional advocate general for the state on the contrary, submitted that the high court and trial court have concurrently found the accused to be guilty of the offences charged with.
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