SC Acquits All Accused in 1990 Manpur Murder Case Due to Contradictory Eyewitness Evidence

Ramesh, son of complainant Gobariya (PW-2), allegedly intervened on 28 September 1990 when ten accused persons were damaging a hut belonging to Jagya (PW-3) in village Chak, Manpur. As per the FIR, the accused diverted their attack toward Ramesh, inflicting serious injuries with a sword, axe and sticks. Ramesh succumbed to his injuries on 5 October 1990 at M.Y. Hospital, Indore. Though ten persons were charge-sheeted, the trial court convicted four under Section 302/34 IPC.

At trial, the complainant (PW-2) and the hut owner, Jagya (PW-3), turned hostile. The conviction rested entirely on two alleged eyewitnesses. The trial court acquitted six co-accused on the same evidence. The High Court affirmed the conviction of the remaining four, leading to the present appeal.

Issue Raised: Whether the murder conviction could stand when the two eyewitnesses gave mutually contradictory and internally inconsistent testimonies regarding the genesis, place, and manner of the incident, thereby casting doubt on the prosecution’s story.

SC Held: The Supreme Court allowed the appeal and acquitted all four convicted accused, holding that the genesis and location of the occurrence were suppressed. The eyewitness evidence was unreliable; the conduct of PW-12 was unnatural, and the site plan did not match eyewitness testimony, further eroding credibility.

The Court extended the benefit of acquittal to Govardhan, Raja Ram, and Bhima, who had not appealed. Therefore, the convictions were set aside, and all four accused were ordered to be released.

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