Sharad Birdhichand Sarda - The Legal Chamber

This Supreme Court judgment reiterates the established legal principle governing convictions based on circumstantial evidence, as outlined in Sharad Birdhichand Sarda. The Supreme Court held that the prosecution must establish a complete and unbroken chain of circumstances that unequivocally points to the guilt of the accused, excluding every other reasonable hypothesis. The conviction was overturned as the sole witness's testimony was found to be unreliable and improved, failing to meet this standard of proof. Facts Of The Case: On October 11, 2003, Santosh Kumar Pandey (PW-2), a shop owner, observed the appellant, Shail Kumari, walking in a disordered condition towards Pujari Talab, a nearby water body, with her two young children. Growing suspicious, he asked a rickshaw puller to foll...

This Supreme Court judgment acquits the accused based on the prosecution's failure to establish a complete chain of circumstantial evidence as mandated by Sharad Birdhichand Sarda. The court found the evidence regarding motive, last seen, extra-judicial confessions, and recoveries to be unreliable, contradictory, and insufficient to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Facts Of The Case: The case involves the murder of Balwant, whose body was discovered in a waterworks tank in Hisar on December 23, 1997. His father, Har Nath (PW-11), identified the body and filed a complaint, leading to an FIR. The prosecution alleged that the accused—Shanti Devi, her son Rajbir, and Veena—murdered Balwant due to a property dispute, as Shanti Devi was a tenant in his house, and an illicit relatio...

Tag: Sharad Birdhichand Sarda

Quality Over Quantity: Supreme Court Reiterates a Single Witness Must Be “Wholly Reliable” to Convict

Chain of Circumstances Broken: Supreme Court Frees Accused in Landmark Circumstantial Evidence Ruling