Supreme Court of India

State of Punjab v. Kewal Krishan

Neutral citation
Reported as [2023] 10 S.C.R. 1
Bench B. V . Nagarathna and Manoj Misra JJ.
Decided 21 June 2023

INSC stands for INDIAN SUPREME COURT. A neutral citation scheme assigned by the Court itself, so a judgment can be cited without depending on a commercial law reporter. INSC is the neutral citation scheme assigned by the Supreme Court, so a judgment can be cited without depending on a commercial law reporter.

What the Court ordered

We are of the considered view that the High Court was justified in doubting the testimony of PW- 2 and finding the last seen circumstance inconclusive in pointing towards the guilt of the accused by excluding other hypotheses consistent with his innocence.

Judgment, page 8

From the headnote

Penal Code, 1860 – s. 302 – Acquittal confirmed – Prosecution case that the deceased was last seen aliv e in his own house in the company of the accused at about 7.00 p .m. on 10.12.1998 – PW-6, nephew of the deceased discovere d body of deceased on 12.12.1998 – FIR was registered – Name of the accu sed did not surface on the record till 25.12.1998 – PW-2, the sole wit ness of the last seen circumstance, in his deposition in court, stated that he had expressed his suspicion in respect of accused’s i nvolvement to the police on 13.12.1998 – It was also alleged that accused made an

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