Top court frees man after 10 years in jail

The Supreme Court has exonerated a man who spent over 10 years in jail for a murder that was never proved beyond reasonable doubt, underlining that a person cannot be held guilty merely because a crime occurred within the four walls of their dwelling. In a strong reaffirmation of Indian criminal jurisprudence, the top court also underscored that the burden of proving guilt always rests on the prosecution and cannot be conveniently shifted to an accused. A bench of justices Pankaj Mithal and Ahsanuddin Amanullah set aside the conviction handed down by the Punjab & Haryana high court in 2019, observing that the case against the accused was based solely on circumstantial evidence A bench of justices Pankaj Mithal and Ahsanuddin Amanullah set aside the conviction handed down by the Punjab & Haryana high court in 2019, observing that the case against the accused was based solely on circumstantial evidence, which failed to conclusively establish his guilt. In its judgment on Monday, the top court noted that the 2014 case lacked direct evidence and relied entirely on circumstances that failed to form a complete and unbroken chain leading to the accused’s guilt. The prosecution sought to invoke Section 106 of the Evidence Act, arguing that since the crime occurred within the four walls of the man’s dwelling, he was obligated to explain the circumstances leading to the deceased’s death.