Supreme Court Acquits Man on Death Row Due to Faulty Investigation and Weak Prosecution
New Delhi, February 9, 2025 – The Supreme Court of India has overturned the conviction and death sentence of a man accused of the gruesome murder of six family members, including four children and his brother. The acquittal was based on a severely flawed investigation and significant gaps in the prosecution’s case presented by the Uttar Pradesh police.
The bench, comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Sanjay Karol, and Sandeep Mehta, declared that “the fabric of the prosecution case is full of holes and holes which are impossible to mend,” highlighting the numerous deficiencies in the evidence presented.
The Court pointed out that the prosecution failed to establish crucial incriminating circumstances against the accused. Specifically, they did not prove motive for the murders, establish that the accused was “last seen” with the victims, or present credible evidence from recovered weapons. Even if the weapon recoveries were accepted, the Court noted the Forensic Science Laboratory report offered no conclusive link between blood found on the weapons and the crime, rendering the recoveries “of no avail to the prosecution.”
The prosecution’s case rested solely on circumstantial evidence, alleging a land dispute as the motive. However, the Supreme Court found this motive unsubstantiated. Furthermore, the Court criticized the prosecution for failing to examine independent witnesses present near the crime scene, relying instead on testimonies from “interested witnesses.”
Justice Mehta, writing the judgment, strongly condemned the “utter lackadaisical approach” of both the Investigating Agency and the prosecution. The judgment detailed a series of investigative failures, including the Investigating Officer’s negligence in not examining local villagers to establish the accused’s presence at the crime scene, the lack of effort to collect evidence of motive, and the failure to properly document the handling of recovered evidence before it reached the Forensic Science Laboratory. Justice Mehta concluded that this “utter negligence in conducting the investigation has contributed significantly to the failure of the prosecution’s case.”
Consequently, the Supreme Court allowed the appeal, setting aside the conviction and freeing the man from death row.
Case Title: GAMBHIR SINGH VERSUS THE STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (SC) 175
For the Appellant: Rakesh Uttamchandra Upadhyay, Aarti U. Mishra, Harsh Som For the Respondent: Sarvesh Singh Baghel, Sushil Kumar Tomar, Shaurya Krishna