Supreme Court: How to appreciate evidence if investigating officer fails to investigate complaint of accused that he was falsely implicated due to political rivalry?

 The Investigating Officer (PW-8) was cross examined

on behalf of the defence, and a specific

suggestion was put to him with reference to the

complaints made by the accused-appellant and his

family members regarding false implication of the

accused-appellant at the behest of the local MLA. The

Investigating Officer admitted that the complaints

made on behalf of the accused and his family

members, supported by affidavits, had been received

by him, but he did not make any inquiry into such

complaints. {Para 28}

29. This omission assumes significance because the

defence was not merely putting forth a bare

suggestion of false implication. It had specifically

brought to the notice of the Investigating Officer that

the accused-appellant and his family members had

approached the authorities alleging that the

appellant was being falsely implicated and targeted

on account of political rivalry. Once such complaints

were admittedly received during the course of

investigation, the Investigating Officer was expected

to undertake at least some verification before

completely discarding the same. His failure to

conduct any inquiry on these complaints deprives the

Court of an important circumstance which could

have either fortified or dispelled the defence plea.

REPORTABLE

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO(S). 135 OF 2026

DHANRAJ  Vs STATE OF RAJASTHAN 

Author: Mehta, J.

Dated: SEPTEMBER 07, 2026.

Citation: 2026 INSC 958.

Read full judgment here: Click here.

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Supreme Court: How to appreciate evidence if sketch of accused prepared with the assistance of the victim was not produced on record?

The Investigating Officer further admitted that

the victim and her father were taken to Jaipur, and

that a sketch was prepared for the purpose of

identifying the accused. However, he admitted that

the said sketch was not available with him and had

not been produced before the trial Court. This

circumstance assumes considerable significance, as

the sketch, having been prepared with the assistance

of the victim at an early stage of the investigation,

constituted an important corroborative material for

ascertaining the identity and physical features of the

then unknown assailant. The non-production of the

said sketch deprives the Court of an opportunity to

examine whether the description furnished by the

victim at the earliest stage was consistent with the

physical features of the accused-appellant. {Para 31}

32. Hence, it is safe to conclude that the

Investigating Officer had no reliable evidence which

could point the finger of suspicion towards the

accused-appellant as being the perpetrator of the

crime. Thus, there remains a serious doubt regarding

the basis on which the accused-appellant came to be

arrested and his subsequent identification as the

assailant.

REPORTABLE

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO(S). 135 OF 2026

DHANRAJ  Vs STATE OF RAJASTHAN 

Author: Mehta, J.

Dated: SEPTEMBER 07, 2026.

Citation: 2026 INSC 958.

Read full judgment here: Click here.

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Supreme Court: How to appreciate prosecution evidence if there is material discrepancy in medical evidence regarding time of incident and age of injuries?

Firstly, there is a material discrepancy in the

medical evidence and the deposition of the witnesses

regarding the time of the incident which goes to the

root of the matter affecting the veracity of the

prosecution case. {Para 51}

 52. At the cost of repetition, we may mention that

as per the deposition of the medical jurist (PW-7), the

injuries on the body of the victim were 5-7 days old.

The medical jurist examined the victim on 7th

December, 2016. Hence, the incident could not have

taken place on 5th December, 2016 as alleged in the

FIR and must have taken place at least 2-3 days

earlier. The presence of pus and maggots in the

wound noticed by the doctor on the perianal region of

the victim, is also indicative of the fact that the

injuries were at least 5-7 days old.

REPORTABLE

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO(S). 135 OF 2026

DHANRAJ  Vs STATE OF RAJASTHAN 

Author: Mehta, J.

Dated: SEPTEMBER 07, 2026.

Citation: 2026 INSC 958.

Read full judgment here: Click here.

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Supreme Court: How to appreciate evidence if victim has not identified accused before court and name of accused was not mentioned in FIR?

Secondly, and more importantly, there is a fatal

flaw in the prosecution case on account of the failure

to get identification of the accused done by the victim

during her deposition before the trial Court. {Para 53}

54. We feel that the presiding officer of the trial

Court as well as the Public Prosecutor were equally

responsible for this fatal omission. The significance

of this omission is further amplified by the fact that

the accused was not named in the FIR; the victim

categorically stated that the police had disclosed his

name to her and; the prosecution merely relied upon

the TIP to establish the identity of the accused.

55. The prosecution case thus suffers from serious

infirmities regarding the identification of the accused;

grave contradiction between the medical evidence

pertaining to the age of the injuries and the alleged

time of the incident as set out in the FIR and the

depositions of the prosecution witnesses.

REPORTABLE

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO(S). 135 OF 2026

DHANRAJ  Vs STATE OF RAJASTHAN 

Author: Mehta, J.

Dated: SEPTEMBER 07, 2026.

Citation: 2026 INSC 958.

Print Page