State of Punjab vs. Kewal Krishan: Supreme Court Upholds High Court’s Acquittal in Murder Case

The case of State of Punjab vs. Kewal Krishan revolves around a criminal appeal filed by the State of Punjab against the acquittal of Kewal Krishan by the Punjab & Haryana High Court. Initially convicted under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for the alleged murder of a person in 1998, Kewal Krishan was sentenced by the trial court. However, the High Court overturned the conviction, leading the State to appeal before the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court, in its judgment on June 21, 2023, upheld the High Court’s decision, ruling that the prosecution had failed to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt.

Background of the Case

The case involved the alleged murder of an individual whose body was discovered in his house on December 12, 1998. The prosecution’s case was based on circumstantial evidence, including:

The deceased was last seen alive with the accused at 7:00 PM on December 10, 1998.
The body was discovered two days later with multiple injuries.
The autopsy suggested death due to shock and hemorrhage from incised wounds.
The accused allegedly made an extra-judicial confession on December 25, 1998.
A knife purportedly used in the crime was recovered based on the accused’s disclosure.

Key Issues in the Appeal

Reliability of the “last seen” evidence.
Credibility of the alleged extra-judicial confession.
Legitimacy of the knife recovery and its forensic analysis.
High Court’s assessment of evidence and whether its acquittal was justified.

Supreme Court’s Analysis and Judgment

On the “Last Seen” Evidence

The Supreme Court found the last seen evidence unreliable. It noted:

“The prosecution failed to establish conclusively that the accused was the last person seen with the deceased, as there was a considerable time gap between the last sighting and the discovery of the body.”

The Court pointed out that if the police had been informed about the accused’s involvement on December 13, 1998, as claimed by a witness, it was suspicious why the arrest was delayed until December 25, 1998.

On the Extra-Judicial Confession

The Court was skeptical of the alleged confession, ruling:

“An extra-judicial confession must be supported by strong corroborative evidence. In this case, there was no clear reason why the accused would have confessed to PW-3, a person with whom he had no close relationship.”

Without any independent corroboration, the Supreme Court deemed the confession unreliable.

On the Knife Recovery

The prosecution relied on the accused’s statement leading to the recovery of a knife. However, the Court noted:

“There was no serologist report confirming human blood on the recovered knife, making it an inconclusive piece of evidence.”

Final Ruling

The Supreme Court, upholding the High Court’s judgment, concluded:

“In a case based on circumstantial evidence, each link in the chain must be proved beyond doubt. Here, multiple inconsistencies and doubts remain, making acquittal the only justifiable outcome.”

Accordingly, the appeal was dismissed, and Kewal Krishan’s acquittal was upheld.

Petitioner Name: State of Punjab.
Respondent Name: Kewal Krishan.
Judgment By: Justice B.V. Nagarathna, Justice Manoj Misra.
Place Of Incident: Punjab.
Judgment Date: 21-06-2023.

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