NEW DELHI:
Supreme Court
has held that a person cannot be convicted for an offence merely on ground that he was seen at the
crime spot
, saying
conviction
cannot be done on ground of
suspicion
, no matter how strong it is.
A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Sandeep Mehta held that conclusion of guilt has to be fully established to convict a person, saying it is a primary principle that accused 'must be' and not 'may be' proved guilty before a court can convict the accused.
"Suspicion, however strong it may be, cannot take place of proof. An accused cannot be convicted on ground of suspicion. He is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt," it said.
As per police, accused had hatched a conspiracy and killed the victim over some personal enmity due to business losses. Police alleged that accused assaulted the deceased with a chopper, and the latter succumbed to his injuries.