Unreliable police evidence and complainant-led investigation can vitiate a prosecution and lead to setting aside conviction.

Material discrepancies in the testimony of the two police witnesses about the place of recovery of the pistol and the number of cartridges, coupled with the absence of independent corroboration, made the prosecution version unreliable. The Supreme Court also found a serious fairness defect because the complainant, who effected the arrest and filed the complaint, continued the investigation and examined witnesses under Section 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. That overlap was inconsistent with a fair and impartial investigation. On these facts, the conviction and sentence were set aside and the prosecution case was held unsafe for reliance.

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Issues: Whether the conviction could be sustained on the basis of discrepant police testimony without independent corroboration, and whether the investigation was vitiated because the complainant conducted the investigation.

Analysis: The evidence of the two police witnesses contained material discrepancies regarding the place of recovery of the pistol and the number of cartridges recovered. In the absence of any independent witness, the contradictions created doubt about the reliability of the prosecution version. A further infirmity was that the complainant, who effected the arrest and made the complaint, also proceeded with the investigation and examined witnesses under Section 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. Such a course was considered inconsistent with the requirement of a fair and impartial investigation.

Conclusion: The conviction could not be sustained, and the appellant was entitled to succeed.

Final Conclusion: The prosecution case was found unsafe for reliance, and the conviction and sentence were set aside.

Ratio Decidendi: Material discrepancies in uncorroborated police evidence, coupled with investigation by the complainant, can render the prosecution case unreliable and justify setting aside the conviction.

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