PRAKASH NISHAD @ KEWAT ZINAK NISHAD v. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Criminal Appeal Nos.1636-1637 of 2023. From the Judgment and Order dated 13.10.2015 in CRLAP No.88 of 2015, CONFC No.4 of 2014 and SC No.407 of 2010 and dated 14.10.2015 in CONFC No.4 of 2014 and CRLAP No.88 of 2015 of the High Court of Judicature at Bombay. 157 A B B. H. Marlapalle, Sr. Adv., Ms. Pratiksha Basarkar, Rishad Ahmed Chowdhury, Avinish Kumar Saurabh, Ms. Anuja Mishra, Advs. for the Appellant. Siddharth Dharmadhikari, Aaditya Aniruddha Pande, Bharat Bagla, Ms. Shreya Saxena, Ms. Yamini Singh, Sourav Singh, Advs. for the Respondent. C The Judgment of the Court was delivered by SANJAY KAROL, J. Leave granted. D 2. The following issues arise for consideration in the present appeals : 1) Whether non-recording of a disclosure statement of the appellant in the language in which it is made and recording of the same in a language totally unknown to the appellant, contents whereof are also not read over and explained to him, can be said to have caused any prejudice to the cause of justice? 2) Whether DNA evidence can form the solitary basis in determining the guilt of the appellant? 3) Whether the circumstances as identified and relied on by the prosecution indeed point to the guilt only of the appellant, closing out any and all other possibilities of any other person? The Factual Prism 3. Pursuant to FIR No.109/2010 dated 12.6.2010 registered at P.S. Bhayander (Thane, Maharashtra), the appellant Prakash Nishad @ Kewat Zinak Nishad was charged for having committed an offence punishable under Sections 376, 377, 302 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (‘IPC’ for short). The Trial Court vide judgment dated E F G H