Sanjay vs State Of Uttar Pradesh 2025 INSC 317 -Last Seen Theory -Circumstantial Evidence - Extra-judicial Confession
Criminal Trial - Last Seen Theory - Conviction cannot be solely based on last-seen theory. (Para 32) - Circumstantial Evidence - In a case based on circumstantial evidence, the prosecution must convince the Court that circumstances point towards the guilt of the accused alone and none else, as also lack of his innocence. (Para 15) It is improbable that a person who killed ‘X’ would have been there all along, as a search party looking for her. (Para 19) When the recovery of the body of the deceased is from a field which is accessible and open to the public, it further warrants need for an independent witness. (Para 29)- Extra-judicial confession - The principles of the evidentiary value of an extra-judicial confession - Referred to Kalinga v. State of Karnataka: The standard required for proving an extra-judicial confession to the satisfaction of the Court is on the higher side and these essential ingredients must be established beyond any reasonable doubt. The standard becomes even higher when the entire case of the prosecution necessarily rests on the extra- judicial confession. (Para 24)
Swasti Chaturvedi