The Supreme Court of India

INDIA: SC RAPS COPS FOR ‘FAULTY PROBE’, ACQUITS MAN ON DEATH ROW

February 10, 2025:

The Supreme Court of India has set aside death penalty awarded to an Agra man who was earlier convicted for murder of his brother, sister-in-law and four children in a property dispute case in 2012, Times of India reported on February 10, 2025.
The man, Gambhir Singh, has been in jail since past 13 years. Pulling up the investigating officers, SC stated "the investigation of a case involving the gruesome murders of six persons was carried out in a most casual and negligent manner".
Court held that the investigation by Agra police failed to provide 'proper evidence' to convict the accused, adding that "prosecution's case is full of holes which are impossible to mend".
It rejected the testimony of the investigating officer and stated that it did not find "anything regarding the theory of motive" of the crime and highlighted lapses in handling of evidence, particularly pertaining to use of murder weapons.
"Having considered the materials available on record in its entirety, we find that the present one is a case involving utter lackadaisical approach on part of the investigating agency as well as prosecution," court stated in its judgment delivered on January 28, which was made available on February 7.
Gambhir Singh was accused of murdering his elder brother Satyabhan, his wife Puspa and their four kids purportedly with an axe over a dispute related to ancestral property in Agra's Turkiya village.
He was arrested, and in 2017, awarded death penalty by a trial court under IPC section 302 (murder).
Two years later, the Allahabad high court ejected his plea against the lower court's conviction. He, thereafter, moved SC against the HC's 2019 verdict.