Supreme Court of India · 2008-01-22
Shaikh Rafiq & Another vs State Of Maharashtra
- Citation / case number
- AIR 2008 SUPREME COURT 1362
- Court
- Supreme Court of India
- Petitioner
- Shaikh Rafiq & Another
- Respondent
- State Of Maharashtra
- Bench
- P.P. Naolekar, Markandey Katju
Judgment text excerpt
The Supreme Court held that the conviction of the appellants under Section 302 IPC was not sustainable due to the unreliability of the dying declaration recorded by the police officer, as it lacked proper medical endorsement regarding the deceased's fitness to make a statement. The Court emphasized that the absence of corroborative evidence and the improbability of the prosecution's narrative further weakened the case against the appellants. Consequently, the Court acquitted the appellants, overturning the lower courts' decisions.