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Randeep Singh @ Rana & Anr. vs State of Haryana & Ors.

Not available · 2024 INSC 887Decided 22 Nov 2024
Not available
Justice Abhay S. Oka · Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah · Justice Augustine George Masih

Background

The deceased was allegedly abducted in his car by a group of unknown persons near an ashram in Haryana in July 2013 and was later found dead; the case against eight accused, including the two appellants, rested entirely on circumstantial evidence since there were no eyewitnesses to the abduction or killing. The trial court convicted all eight for murder, abduction, and related offences under the IPC, sentencing them to life imprisonment. On appeal, the High Court acquitted most of the accused but upheld the conviction of the two appellants.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court, examining the chain of circumstantial evidence relied upon by the lower courts, found that none of the individual pieces of evidence against the appellants was strong enough to be called truly "incriminating," and that the prosecution had not forged an unbroken chain of circumstances that ruled out every reasonable possibility except the appellants' guilt. Quoting its own precedent, the Court cautioned that in gruesome crimes there is a natural temptation for courts to "spin stories out of strong suspicions," but a conviction requires clear, cogent, and unimpeachable evidence, not moral conviction or suspicion, however strong. Finding the prosecution's case fell short of this standard, the Court acquitted both appellants and set aside their convictions, directing their immediate release unless wanted in any other case.

Lesson Learnt

In cases built entirely on circumstantial evidence, courts must be satisfied that the evidence forms a complete, unbroken chain pointing exclusively to guilt: strong suspicion or the gruesome nature of a crime is never a substitute for legally sufficient proof.

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

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