“It is evident that the circumstances proved relate only to a title dispute between the deceased and the appellant, and the recovery of a ‘tessi’ with human blood from the appellant’s bathroom following a disclosure allegedly made by him. However, this recovery alone is not sufficient to convict the accused of murder,” the court held.It also noted that the prosecution failed to provide any other credible evidence linking the accused directly to the crime. “The recovery is inconsequential, as the alleged weapon was never conclusively connected to the murder,” the court stated.As a result, the court concluded that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt. “Under these circumstances, the conviction and sentence of the appellant are set aside,” the apex court ruled.Firuram Sahu had been convicted under several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including Section 302 (Murder) and Section 201 (Destruction of Evidence), and sentenced to life imprisonment by the trial court. This conviction was upheld by the Chhattisgarh High Court in 2024, which was then challenged by Sahu in the Supreme Court.
Source link
