Case:- SUSHIL KUMAR TIWARI vs. HARE RAM SAH & ORS
Citation:- 2025 INSC 1061
Date:- 01.09.2025
Supreme Court Bench:- Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma
No More “Loose Acquittals”
The Hon’ble Supreme Court cautioned against granting acquittals by loosely invoking the principle of ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’, emphasizing that minor contradictions in evidence cannot be elevated to the level of reasonable doubt to justify an acquittal
- The Hon’ble Supreme Court cautioned that minor contradictions in evidence cannot be treated as ‘reasonable doubt’ to acquit accused persons.
- The Hon’ble Court setaside the Hon’ble Patna High Court’s acquittal of two men convicted for raping a minor under the POCSO Act.
- The Hon’ble High Court had relied on discrepancies about the victim’s age, timing of incident, pregnancy, abortion records, framing of charges, and joint trial.The Hon’ble SC held these grounds are unsustainable as the victim’s age between 12–15 still falls under POCSO Act. Minor lapses in remembering date/time do not outweigh consistent testimony supported by medical evidence. The Court called rejection of pregnancy and abortion records “preposterous”, noting strong medical and legal documents proved the both.
- The Hon’ble stressed that reasonable doubt must be genuine, serious, and supported by evidence, not trivial contradictions. It warned that misuse of the standard allows guilty persons to walk free, which shakes public confidence in justice.
- The Court directed the accused to surrender within two weeks to serve their remaining sentence.
