The Supreme Court has acquitted a Rajasthan man convicted of murder, holding that serious flaws in the prosecution’s evidence and a broken chain of custody rendered the forensic report unreliable. The Court ruled that the conviction based purely on circumstantial evidence could not be sustained when the prosecution failed to establish a complete and credible chain of circumstances.
The bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and N.V. Anjaria has closely scrutinised the prosecution’s reliance on circumstantial evidence and forensic findings. The bench observed that in cases based solely on circumstantial evidence, the prosecution must establish an unbroken chain of circumstances that conclusively points to the guilt of the accused.
Pooranmal and a co-accused, Ladu Lal, were tried before the Additional Sessions Judge (Women Atrocities Cases), Bhilwara, Rajasthan in Sessions Case No. 33 of 2010. In February 2012, the trial court convicted both accused under Sections 302 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code, read with Section 34, for murder and destruction of evidence. They were sentenced to life imprisonment along with fines, while the sentence for destruction of evidence carried seven years’ rigorous imprisonment.
The Rajasthan High Court upheld the conviction in March 2018. Although Ladu Lal’s Special Leave Petition before the Supreme Court was dismissed in 2022, Pooranmal continued to challenge the verdict, leading to the present appeal.
The Court found major deficiencies in the handling of forensic samples and evidence. It noted that the prosecution failed to prove that the samples taken from the victim and the accused were properly sealed and preserved from the time of seizure until they reached the forensic laboratory.
The Court pointed out that no witness from the forensic science laboratory (FSL) was examined to confirm that the samples were received in sealed condition. This omission created a serious possibility that the samples could have been tampered with or manipulated.
The bench emphasised that the chain of custody of the seized articles had been irreparably broken, which undermined the evidentiary value of the forensic report. As a result, the Court held that the FSL report became “redundant and a worthless piece of paper.”
Without reliable forensic support, the prosecution’s circumstantial case collapsed. The Court observed that the remaining evidence was insufficient to sustain the conviction for such a serious offence.
Concluding that the prosecution failed to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt, the Supreme Court set aside the judgments of both the trial court and the Rajasthan High Court.
“The conviction of the appellant-Pooranmal cannot be sustained,” the Court held, ordering that he be acquitted of all charges.
Since Pooranmal was in custody at the time of the judgment, the Court directed that he be released forthwith, provided he was not required in any other case.
Case Details
Case Title: Pooranmal Versus The State Of Rajasthan
Citation: JURISHOUR-300-SC-2026
Case No.: SLP (Crl.) No (s). 1977 of 2026
Date: 10/03/2026
