Circumstantial evidence conviction requires a complete chain; unreliable last-seen evidence, motive and confession cannot displace acquittal.

In a circumstantial evidence prosecution, guilt must be proved by a complete and reliable chain that rules out a reasonable alternative explanation. The alleged last-seen evidence was found unreliable because the surrounding conditions made the observation doubtful, the alleged motive was not satisfactorily established, and the claimed extra-judicial confession was rejected for lack of contemporaneous support and corroboration. The record was consistent with the defence version, so the acquittal was held to suffer from no infirmity warranting interference. The appeal was dismissed and the acquittal upheld.

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Issues: Whether the prosecution proved guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt on the basis of circumstantial evidence, including last-seen evidence, alleged motive, and alleged extra-judicial confession, so as to justify interference with the acquittal.

Analysis: The prosecution case rested entirely on circumstantial evidence. The evidence of the witness said to have last seen the deceased with the accused was found unreliable because the surrounding fence and bushes made the claimed observation doubtful, and the conduct attributed to the accused was inconsistent with the prosecution version. The alleged motive was not satisfactorily established and appeared to be an afterthought. The alleged extra-judicial confession was also rejected because it was not mentioned in the contemporaneous report and was not supported by other witnesses. The material on record was consistent with the defence version, and the acquittal recorded by the High Court did not suffer from any infirmity warranting interference.

Conclusion: The prosecution failed to complete the chain of circumstances, and the acquittal was rightly upheld. The appeal was dismissed.

Ratio Decidendi: In a case based on circumstantial evidence, conviction can stand only when the entire chain is proved reliably and the evidence is sufficient to rule out a reasonable alternative explanation; an acquittal based on rejection of unreliable circumstances will not be disturbed in appeal.

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