Recently, the Supreme Court acquitted a death row convict involved in a notorious triple-murder case that took place in Pune in 2012. The accused, Vishwajeet Kerba Masalkar, had been sentenced to death by a Trial Court for the murder of his mother, wife and two-year-old daughter, a decision that was later upheld by the Bombay High Court in July 2019.
The Supreme Court’s decision came after the convict challenged the High Court’s ruling.
Apex Court bench comprising of Justice B.R. Gavai, Prashant Kumar Mishra Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice K.V. Vishwanathan decide the matter which dealt with circumstantial evidence.
The prosecution alleged that Masalkar had committed the murders following disagreements with his family over his extramarital affair. After the incident, the convict claimed that a burglary had occurred at his residence, leading to the deaths. However, the investigating authorities found no evidence to support this version, as there were no signs of forced entry or stolen items. Furthermore, the police discovered that the convict had injured a neighbour, likely to prevent him from reporting the crime.
The Trial Court convicted Masalkar in 2016, sentencing him to death under the “rarest of rare” doctrine.
The High Court upheld the sentence but stayed its ruling pending the Supreme Court’s decision, as per Section 415(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The Supreme Court emphasised that the case was based entirely on circumstantial evidence and noted the prosecution’s failure to prove the convict’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The bench observed that in capital punishment cases, the burden of proof must meet the highest standards, given the irreversible nature of the penalty. As a result, the appeal was allowed, and the death sentence was set aside. This ruling highlights the Supreme Court’s approach toward upholding strict evidentiary standards, particularly in cases involving the death penalty, reiterating the importance of proving guilt with certainty when life and death are at stake.
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