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Heading: Background of the Case The Supreme Court has clarified that the long-standing principle of presumption of innocence applies only until the conclusion of the criminal trial. Once a conviction is recorded, the presumption no longer survives, and appellate courts must exercise extreme caution while suspending sentences and granting bail pending appeal. The ruling came while setting aside orders of the Patna High Court that had suspended the life sentences of two convicts — a father-son duo — involved in the murder of a village priest inside a temple in Bihar’s Rohtas district. The Court directed both convicts to surrender within ten days. Heading: Facts of the Crime and Trial Court Findings The incident occurred on 11 December 2021 inside the Mahavir Temple. The prosecution case was that the deceased, Krishna Behari Upadhyay, a village priest, had gone to the temple with his son to perform evening rituals when a group of armed men entered the premises, accused him of political i...

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered the interim release of Sonia and her husband Sanjeev Kumar, who were convicted of killing eight members of Sonia’s family in August 2001. The court simultaneously directed the Haryana government to reconsider their premature release application within two months, strictly in accordance with the applicable remission policy. Background of the 2001 Hisar Mass Murder Case On the night of August 23, 2001, eight members of the Punia family were killed at their farmhouse on the outskirts of Hisar. The victims included: • Relu Ram Punia (50), former MLA of Barwala constituency • Krishna Devi (41) • A 14-year-old daughter • Sunil Kumar (23), son from first marriage • Daughter-in-law Shakuntala Devi (20) • A 4-year-old grandson • Two granddaughters, including a two-month-old infant According to the prosecution, Sonia and Sanjeev retrieved an iron rod from the garage after midnight and murdered the family members individually in separate ro...