The Supreme Court has set aside the conviction of an accused who was sentenced to death for allegedly murdering six family members, including his four children and brother. The Court held that the Uttar Pradesh police conducted a faulty investigation and relied on flawed evidence recovery.
“The fabric of the prosecution case is full of holes and holes which are impossible to mend,” the Court remarked while highlighting the deficiencies in the prosecution’s case.
A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Sanjay Karol, and Sandeep Mehta noted that the prosecution failed to establish any incriminating circumstances, such as motive, last seen, and recoveries, against the accused. The case was built entirely on circumstantial evidence, with the prosecution contending that the accused killed his family over a land dispute. However, the Court found that even this alleged motive was unproven.
The judgment, authored by Justice Mehta, strongly criticized the investigation, stating:
“This is a case involving an utterly lackadaisical approach by both the Investigating Agency and the prosecution. The investigation into the gruesome murders of six innocent persons was conducted in the most casual and negligent manner. The Investigating Officer (PW-12) failed to examine even a single villager residing near the crime scene to establish the accused’s presence at the relevant time. No effort was made to collect proper evidence of motive. Furthermore, the Investigating Officer did not ensure the safe custody of recovered articles before they were sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory, significantly weakening the prosecution’s case.”
The Court also criticized the prosecution’s reliance solely on interested witnesses while failing to examine independent witnesses present near the crime scene. It further observed that even if the alleged weapon recoveries were accepted, the forensic report failed to establish any conclusive link to the crime.
Citing these critical lapses, the Supreme Court concluded that the prosecution had failed to prove the accused’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Accordingly, the Court allowed the appeal and acquitted the accused.
Case Title: Gambhir Singh v. State of Uttar Pradesh
