Supreme Court sets aside murder conviction, citing child witness testimony flaws

The case concerns a criminal appeal by Ravi Kumar Singh Malhotra against his conviction for the murder of his wife and son and attempted murder of his other son. The core issue is whether the High Court was justified in reversing the Trial Court's acquittal based primarily on the testimony of a child witness.

Appellant: Ravi Kumar Singh Malhotra; Respondent: The State of Madhya Pradesh; Bench: Justice Augustine George Masih.

• The Court set aside the judgment and order of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh.
• The Court held that the High Court failed to meet the threshold for interfering with an acquittal, as the Trial Court's view was plausible.
• The Court found the testimony of the child witness (PW-28) unreliable due to contradictions, allegations of tutoring, and lack of corroboration.
• The Court ruled that the appellant's conduct (absconding/explanation) did not establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt when viewed in isolation from the weak primary evidence.

Written from the document by AI, and checked against it. The original below is authoritative.

The original document