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Digamber Vaishnav & Anr. v. The State of Chhattisgarh

Criminal Appeal · 2019 INSC 308Decided 5 Mar 2019
Criminal Appeal Nos. 428-430 of 2019
Justice A.K. Sikri · Justice S. Abdul Nazeer · Justice M.R. Shah

Background

Five women from one family were found dead in their home in a Chhattisgarh village. The two appellants were convicted by the Sessions Court and sentenced to death, with the Chhattisgarh High Court confirming the death sentence and dismissing their appeals. The prosecution's case rested entirely on circumstantial evidence, including a disputed fingerprint, a shirt button allegedly matching one recovered from an accused, hair samples, an alleged robbery motive, and testimony that the accused were "last seen" with the victims.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court scrutinised each strand of circumstantial evidence and found all of it unreliable: the fingerprint-lifting process was procedurally suspicious, the shirt and button match was not shown to be unique (similar shirts being commonly available), the hair analysis only confirmed human origin without linking it to the accused, and the alleged robbery motive was undermined by the fact that valuable jewellery was left untouched on the victims. The "last seen together" evidence came from a child witness with inconsistencies and a significant time gap, which under settled law cannot alone sustain a conviction. Finding the entire chain of circumstantial evidence broken, the Court set aside the conviction and death sentence, and acquitted both appellants, ordering their release.

Lesson Learnt

A criminal conviction, especially one carrying the death penalty, cannot rest on circumstantial evidence unless every link in the chain is proven beyond doubt and points unerringly to guilt; weak or inconclusive forensic evidence and an uncorroborated "last seen" claim are not enough.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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