LI Network
Published on: 09 September 2023 at 11:30 IST
The Supreme Court has underscored that the ‘last seen’ theory can only be invoked when it is established beyond a reasonable doubt.
The bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Ahsanuddin Amanullah made this observation while acquitting the accused in a murder case.
In this particular case, the accused had been acquitted by the Trial Court, but on appeal by the State, the Karnataka High Court convicted him under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.
The conviction was primarily based on the ‘last seen’ theory, suggesting that the deceased was last seen in the company of the accused.
According to the prosecution’s account, on January 3, 2002, at around 4:30 P.M., an unidentified male body was discovered in a field. Later, the body was identified, and the allegation was that the accused had killed the deceased.
Upon appeal, the Supreme Court reevaluated the evidence and noted that it had not been conclusively proven whether the deceased had indeed gone with the accused before his body was discovered.
“In the present case, given that there is no definitive evidence of the last seen theory and the significant time gap between the alleged last seen moment and the discovery of the body, along with the absence of other corroborative pieces of evidence, it cannot be definitively concluded that the chain of circumstances is so complete that the only reasonable inference is the guilt of the appellant,” the Court remarked.
The Court further emphasized that in the case of an acquittal, an appellate court must bear in mind that there exists a double presumption in favor of the accused.
When two interpretations are possible, the one favoring the accused should be preferred.
This verdict was rendered in the case of R Sreenivasa vs. State of Karnataka, and it reinforces the principle that the ‘last seen’ theory must be substantiated beyond a reasonable doubt for it to hold legal weight in a criminal trial.