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Hostile Witnesses Flip the Script: Supreme Court Frees Man in SC/ST Murder Case
In a landmark ruling on evidence appreciation, the
has acquitted Talari Naresh, overturning his life imprisonment for murder and SC/ST atrocities. A bench of
Justice N.V. Anjaria
and
Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra
slammed the prosecution's
"weak, contradictory, and crumbling evidence,"
setting aside convictions by the trial court and
. The decision, delivered on May 13, 2026, clarifies that hostile witness testimony isn't just for convictions—it can dismantle the prosecution case entirely.
Roots of Revenge? The Village Feud That Never Held Up
The saga began in Ogipur village, Ranga Reddy District, Telangana, where appellant Talari Naresh (from the Mudiraj backward class) was accused of killing Shiva Shankar (from the Scheduled Caste Mala community) on May 12, 2013. Prosecutors alleged Shankar had eloped with Naresh's 18-year-old sister on February 14, 2013, prompting a village panchayat that banished Shankar from Ogipur. Returning for a friend's wedding, Shankar reportedly passed Naresh's house with friend Narendar (PW-3). A quarrel ensued; Naresh allegedly smashed Shankar's head with a stone (6x4x3 inches), hurling caste slurs at his mother Padmamma (PW-1), who intervened and got injured.
Shankar died en route to Hyderabad hospital. FIR under and escalated to and post-death. Trial court sentenced Naresh to life (plus fines); High Court confirmed on February 4, 2025.
Prosecution's Tower of Cards: Eyewitnesses Who Backed Out
The state leaned on PW-1 (mother, claiming eye injury and caste abuse) and PW-3 (alleged companion who informed her). PW-2 (PW-1's brother) corroborated via phone. Motive: elopement grudge. Medicals showed head injuries causing intracranial hemorrhage; FSL linked blood on stone/shirt to victim.
Defense tore this apart: PW-3 turned hostile, denying informing PW-1 or witnessing—claimed Shankar sent him away on a busy main road near quarries, teeming with trucks. PW-4 and PW-5 (panchayat witnesses) denied any meeting ever happened. No independent public witnesses despite the crowded spot. PW-1, as "interested" relative, faced scrutiny for inconsistencies.
Naresh's counsel highlighted unproven panchayat, delayed crime scene visit, and medical mismatches.
Evidence Under the Microscope: Discrepancies That Doomed the Case
The Court dissected the prosecution's pillars. Oral evidence collapsed : PW-3 contradicted PW-1's story; PW-4/PW-5 nuked the motive. Busy road begged independent eyes—none came. PW-1's testimony, though not auto-rejected as related, needed caution ( ; warned of bias coloring facts).
Medicals in shambles : Postmortem (Ex. P8, May 14) clashed with inquest (Ex. P7, May 13); time-of-death (12-24 hrs pre-autopsy) mismatched incident. Doctor PW-7's "night duty error" excuse rang hollow. Citing Ghulam Hassan Beigh v. Mohammad Maqbool Magrey (2022), the bench held: postmortem reports aren't substantive without oral corroboration—here, they were "diminished to nil."
Hostile witnesses redefined
: Building on
,
,
, and
, the Court innovated: if hostile evidence convicts with corroboration, it acquits sans it.
"The reverse is also true as a canon of appreciation of evidence."
the
"foundation... discredited by the prosecution's witnesses"
on occurrence itself.
Key Observations
"…when the testimony of a hostile witness is admissible subject to be feeded by corroboration and the conviction on that basis could be arrived at, the reverse is also true as a canon of appreciation of evidence. What necessarily implies is that... such evidence could indeed be applied and utilised also for the purpose of acquitting the accused..."
"The evidentiary value of this set of medical evidence stands diminished to nil."
"…the interaction of evidence of PW1 and PW3 read with the evidence of PW4 and PW5, demolished the very fulcrum of the prosecution case, in as much as the very occurrence of the incident was discredited..."
"…though the incident was claimed to have occurred in the open place humming with vehicular traffic, no person from the nearby was examined as a witness..."
"In wake of such weak, contradictory and crumbling evidence... the conviction... is not sustainable."
Acquittal Echoes: A Blueprint for Doubt
The bench set aside both lower court orders:
"The judgment and order... is hereby set aside. The appellant is acquitted and shall be set at liberty forthwith unless required... in respect of any other offence. The Appeal stands allowed."
This isn't just reversal—it's a primer for trials. Prosecutions must prove basics beyond relatives' tales, especially in public spots or SC/ST cases. Hostile flips now cut both ways, demanding ironclad corroboration. Future benches may cite it to probe "interested" evidence harder, easing wrongful convictions' burden.
