Rajesh Talwar vs C.B.I & Or:
Aarushi Talwar Murder Case
The guilt of an accused should be proved beyond reasonable doubt by the prosecution.
- Citation - Nupur Talwar v. CBI, 2017 SCC OnLine All 2222
- Bench: Bala Krishna Narayana, Arvind Kumar Mishra-I
Facts:
Popularly known as the Noida double murder case refers to the unsolved murders of 13-year-old girl Aarushi Talwar and 45-year-old HemrajBanjade, a male live-in domestic worker employed by her family. The two were killed on the night of 15–16 May 2008 at Aarushi's home in Noida, India. The case aroused public interest as a whodunit story, and received heavy media coverage.
Procedural History:
The police had botched the investigation and the case was transferred to the CBI. The CBI conducted narco interrogation on the three people they thought were guilty but were then accused of using dubious methods to extract a confession, and all the three men were released after it could not find any solid evidence against them.In 2009, the CBI handed over the investigation to a new team, which recommended closing the case due to critical gaps in the evidence. Still a special CBI court rejected this claim and ordered proceedings against the Talwar’s. In November 2013, the parents were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment, but many critics argued that the judgment was based on weak evidence. The Talwar’s challenged the decision in the Allahabad High Court.
Issue:
Does the common law principle that the guilt of an accused should be proved beyond reasonable doubt by the prosecution apply in India?
Holding:
On 12 October 2017, the court acquitted them after 4 long years, calling the evidence against them unsatisfactory also stating that guilt of an accused should be proved beyond reasonable doubt by the prosecution. The court also severely criticised the police, CBI and the media for not having investigated the murder properly. On 8 March 2018 the CBI has challenged the acquittal in Supreme Court. The case remains unsolved.
