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Nepal Singh v. The State of Madhya Pradesh

Criminal Appeal · 2026 INSC 869Decided 17 Aug 2026
Crl.A. No.-002239-002240 - 2026
Justice Sanjay Karol · Justice Augustine George Masih

Background

Eleven persons were charged over a 1993 incident in which an unlawful assembly allegedly attacked two men, killing one (Gaflu), arising from a land dispute. The trial court acquitted five of the accused for lack of evidence but convicted Nepal Singh and four others of rioting and murder; the High Court upheld the convictions in 2018. The State did not appeal the acquittals, but the convicted men appealed to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court found that the two key prosecution witnesses - an alleged eyewitness (PW-6) and the deceased's wife (PW-7) - gave contradictory and self-undermining testimony: PW-6 claimed to have lost consciousness after the first blow yet described who struck which weapon, and PW-7's version in cross-examination directly contradicted her examination-in-chief. The Court noted that the same evidence was used to both convict some accused and acquit others without any explanation for the differential treatment, and that recovered weapons (common rural household items) had no forensic connection to the crime. Given the unreliable and contradictory testimony, the Court set aside the conviction and quashed the underlying High Court judgment, ordering the appellant's release.

Lesson Learnt

Where the same body of evidence and depositions is used to acquit some accused and convict others in the same incident, courts must explain the basis for that differential treatment - unexplained inconsistency, combined with contradictory witness testimony, is enough to overturn a conviction.

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

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