Overview
- A bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and K. Vinod Chandran dismissed the elder son's appeal, with the judgment authored by Justice Chandran.
- The Court said the investigation was overzealous, driven by village hostility, and described it as premeditated and a sham that ignored due procedure.
- It ruled the dying declarations could not be trusted because they showed serious inconsistencies and were recorded in the presence of interested witnesses without adequate medical safeguards.
- Investigative lapses cited included failure to probe the fire's cause, inability to place the accused at the scene, non-examination of a key independent witness, and missing basic forensic steps.
- Rebuking such practices, the Court warned of the lasting trauma of wrongful prosecution and urged strict adherence to established investigative and evidentiary standards.