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Surajdeo Mahto and Anr. v. The State of Bihar

Criminal Appeal · 2021 INSC 379Decided 4 Aug 2021
Criminal Appeal No. 1677 of 2011
Chief Justice N.V. Ramana · Justice Surya Kant · Justice Aniruddha Bose

Background

In 1987, Arun was lured away from his village by Surajdeo Mahto (Appellant No.1) on the pretext of watching a film, after which Arun went missing and was later found dead near a reservoir. Based entirely on circumstantial evidence, the "last seen" theory, an alleged motive (an illicit relationship between the deceased and the appellant's sister), and false information given by Surajdeo about the deceased's whereabouts, the trial court convicted both Surajdeo and his associate Prakash Mahto (Appellant No.2) of murder and criminal conspiracy, and the Patna High Court upheld the conviction. Both men appealed to the Supreme Court; Surajdeo additionally claimed, for the first time at this stage, that he had been a juvenile at the time of the offence.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court upheld Surajdeo Mahto's conviction, finding the chain of circumstantial evidence, his being last seen with the deceased, the established motive, his giving false and contradictory explanations about the deceased's whereabouts, and his subsequently absconding, complete and conclusive beyond reasonable doubt. However, it acquitted the second appellant, Prakash Mahto, holding that mere presence in the deceased's company shortly before his death, without any proven motive, conspiracy, or recovered evidence linking him to the crime, amounted only to suspicion, which is not sufficient for conviction. The Court separately rejected Surajdeo's belated juvenility claim, finding the school documents he produced did not even bear his correct name and were unreliable at this late stage.

Lesson Learnt

In a case built entirely on circumstantial evidence, each accused's individual role must be separately and conclusively proved: simply being present near the victim along with a more clearly implicated co-accused is not enough to sustain a murder conviction; mere suspicion, however strong, cannot substitute for proof.

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

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