New Delhi: A view of Supreme Court of India, in New Delhi. (PTI Photo/Shahbaz Khan) New Delhi: Supreme Court on Tuesday came to the rescue of 12 life convicts, who had undergone a total sentence of 12 years in jail, acquitting all of them in a 2008 murder case in Assam by holding that proper investigation was not done by police.Pointing fault in the probe, which could have been because of “ignorance, inefficiency or malicious motivation”, the Supreme Court began its verdict by saying “an inept investigation or a scripted enquiry, both are fatal to criminal prosecution but the latter has lethal consequences when there is a possibility of totally innocent persons being crucified”. A bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and K Vinod Chandran accepted advocate Talha Abdul Rahman’s petition, which pointed out various loopholes in the prosecution’s story. The court said there was no sufficient proof to prove culpability of the accused in the case and set aside the orders of the trial court as well as the Gauhati HC of conviction and sentence. It asked Assam govt to take steps to give proper training to its police force. “It is unfortunate that the police officer who reached the spot immediately after the incident took place, failed to follow due procedure to put the criminal investigation in motion as per the CrPC,” the bench said. “Be it ignorance, inefficiency or malicious motivation, the crime is left unresolved, and considerable time and money has been spent in the prosecution of 16 persons, some of whom died during trial and the others suffered incarceration for long periods,” it said. The state and its home department “would do well to better equip their officers in investigating crimes and educating them of due procedure”, the bench said. SC noted that despite police having reached the spot immediately after the assault, in which one person was allegedly killed and two others injured grievously, no attempt was made to collect the blood spilled at the spot, so as to match it with that of the deceased and the injured. The bench said weapons seized were neither sent for forensic analysis nor were the accused confronted to eyewitnesses or the doctor who conducted postmortem.End of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideosBengal Phase 2 Polls: 142 Constituencies Vote Today, Over 3.21 Crore Voters to DecideChokepoints of Power: how India can ‘trump’ China on the seasSwati Maliwal’s Explosive Exit: Assault Allegations, ‘Betrayal’ Charges Rock AAP As She Joins BJPIndian Aviation Sector Warns Of Possible Shutdown Amid Soaring Fuel CostsUNGA Chief Hails India’s Global Role, Calls India’s Leadership Central To MultilateralismIndia To Receive Fourth Unit Of S-400 Missile Systems From Russia, To Be Deployed In RajasthanISRO-s Big Shift- Civilians To Join Gaganyaan Missions – India-s Space Programme Expands”Online Radicalisation Led To…” Maharashtra CM On ISIS-Inspired AttackIndia’s Defence Spending Hits $92 Bn, Becomes World’s 5th Largest Amid Global Military SurgeIs Rafale deal with France stuck? Will India’s demand for access scuttle fighter deal?123Photostories10 royal baby boy names inspired by kings and warriorsSuhana Khan returns in liquid gold in an Arpita Mehta saree that refuses to be ignoredMorning affirmation at 5am: Feeling lost? This might helpFrom tasting success and popularity after playing Samar to being ousted overnight from Anupamaa: Paras Kalnawat on his journeyKate Middleton dips into Princess Diana’s 1995 Germany look with sapphire earrings from the royal jewellery archivesAhead of ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2,’ buzz around the threequel adds to fans’ anticipation – here’s what we knowWhy BTS K-pop star Jungkook’s basic bodyweight routine may be more effective than your gym plan5 longest train journeys in the world: Did you know India has one?10 things you should walk away from— No regrets, no looking back5 simple brain exercises that can boost memory without apps or tools123Hot PicksAmit ShahMamata BanerjeeBengal Women VotersPM Rally GunfireAssembly Election 2026Bengal Oath CeremonyTrinamool CongressTop TrendingSaeed Sheikh AfridiExit Poll results 2026PM modiSalim DolaAssam HS 12th ResultManish SisodiaMumbai Watermelon Poisoning newsBengal PollsJack GrealishIPL Orange Cap
New Delhi: Supreme Court on Tuesday came to the rescue of 12 life convicts, who had undergone a total sentence of 12 years in jail, acquitting all of them in a 2008 murder case in Assam by holding that proper investigation was not done by police.Pointing fault in the probe, which could have been because of “ignorance, inefficiency or malicious motivation”, the Supreme Court began its verdict by saying “an inept investigation or a scripted enquiry, both are fatal to criminal prosecution but the latter has lethal consequences when there is a possibility of totally innocent persons being crucified”. A bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and K Vinod Chandran accepted advocate Talha Abdul Rahman’s petition, which pointed out various loopholes in the prosecution’s story. The court said there was no sufficient proof to prove culpability of the accused in the case and set aside the orders of the trial court as well as the Gauhati HC of conviction and sentence. It asked Assam govt to take steps to give proper training to its police force. “It is unfortunate that the police officer who reached the spot immediately after the incident took place, failed to follow due procedure to put the criminal investigation in motion as per the CrPC,” the bench said. “Be it ignorance, inefficiency or malicious motivation, the crime is left unresolved, and considerable time and money has been spent in the prosecution of 16 persons, some of whom died during trial and the others suffered incarceration for long periods,” it said. The state and its home department “would do well to better equip their officers in investigating crimes and educating them of due procedure”, the bench said. SC noted that despite police having reached the spot immediately after the assault, in which one person was allegedly killed and two others injured grievously, no attempt was made to collect the blood spilled at the spot, so as to match it with that of the deceased and the injured. The bench said weapons seized were neither sent for forensic analysis nor were the accused confronted to eyewitnesses or the doctor who conducted postmortem.
