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.

- Utkarsh Anand

NEW DELHI:

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, which failed to conclusively establish his guilt.