Burden of Proof: Supreme Court Warns Against Rigid Application of Criminal Law Principles
Supreme Court Restores Murder Conviction After 27 Years In a significant ruling reaffirming the importance of accountability in serious criminal offences, the Supreme Court of India has cautioned against adopting a “pedantic” or excessively rigid interpretation of the burden of proof principle in criminal jurisprudence. The apex court stressed that overemphasis on procedural rigidity could allow offenders in grave crimes to escape justice, thereby making “society the casualty.” The judgment came in a case involving the murder of a daughter-in-law, Pushpa , in Madhya Pradesh 27 years ago. The bench, comprising Justices Sanjay Kumar and Alok Aradhe , restored the conviction of the accused, Janved Singh , reversing the Madhya Pradesh High Court’s 2010 acquittal . Case Background: Dowry Death Disguised as Electrocution Pushpa, who was married to Mahesh Singh, was found dead in her home in December 1997 . Her father-in-law, Janved, reported to police that she had died of electrocuti...