Anuppur. Jabalpur bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court, while giving a big verdict in a famous case of Anuppur district, acquitted two accused who were serving life imprisonment.
The court on Monday canceled the decision of Anuppur District Court and ordered acquittal of Aadhar Singh and Puran Singh from all charges.
The division bench, in its judgment, said that the prosecution had completely failed to prove that the death of Brijesh Singh was a premeditated murder.
The court held that from the available evidence and circumstances it was also possible that the incident might have been a road accident. In such a situation, it is justified to give the benefit of doubt to the accused.
The incident happened in 2013
The matter is of the year 2013. According to the information, on the day of the incident, four people were returning home on two motorcycles. Aadhar Singh and Puran Singh were riding on the first bike, while Brijesh Singh and Kailash were present on the second bike.
On the way, the bike collided with a truck parked near Pan river. Kailash was injured in the accident, while Brijesh Singh died on the spot.
On the basis of the last time they were seen together, the police took Aadhar Singh and Puran Singh into custody and registered a case of murder. After investigation, challan was presented against both of them under sections 302 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code.
The trial court had sentenced life imprisonment
Anuppur District Court, concluding the hearing on June 26, 2019, had convicted both the accused. The court had sentenced both of them to life imprisonment on charges of murder and destruction of evidence.
After this the accused filed an appeal in the High Court. On May 11, 2026, Justice Vivek Aggarwal and Justice A.K. Singh’s division bench, while hearing the case, overturned the trial court’s decision.
The court said that the entire case was based on circumstantial evidence and no eyewitnesses were present.
Question raised on medical report
Defense advocate Abhishek Pandey argued in the court that there was no clear cause of death recorded in the post-mortem report. Doctors also admitted that the injuries found on the body of the deceased could be similar to those caused in a road accident.
During the hearing, citing various decisions of the Supreme Court, it was said that no one can be held guilty on the basis of mere suspicion.
The court held that the prosecution could not prove that there was any old enmity between the accused and the deceased or that the murder was caused by deliberate hit-and-run.
High Court ordered release
The High Court said in its order that the spot of incident, vehicle examination and statements of witnesses do not fully support the prosecution’s story. Contradictions were found in the statements of several important witnesses.
The court said that in criminal cases, guilt is considered proved only when the allegations are proven beyond reasonable doubt. Due to lack of sufficient and solid evidence, both the accused are acquitted. After being in jail for almost 13 years, the way has now been cleared for the release of Aadhar Singh and Puran Singh.
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