11 Again, in Padala Veera Reddy vs. State of Andhra Pradesh and others6, this Court affirmed that when a case rests solely upon circumstantial evidence, such evidence must satisfy the following tests: ‘1. The circumstances from which an inference of guilt is sought to be drawn must be cogently and firmly established; 2. Those circumstances should be of a definite tendency unerringly pointing towards guilt of the accused; 3. The circumstances, taken cumulatively, should form a chain so complete that there is no escape from the conclusion that within all human probability the crime was committed by the accused and none else; and 4. The circumstantial evidence in order to sustain conviction must be complete and incapable of explanation of any other hypothesis than that of the guilt of the accused and such evidence should not only be consistent with the guilt of the accused but should be inconsistent with his innocence.’ 15. Applying these standards presently, we find that the prosecution utterly failed to pass muster in establishing its case. There are cavernous gaps in the evidence that the prosecution would offer as an ‘unbroken chain unerringly pointing to the guilt of the appellants’. Discrepancies galore in the prosecution’s case tear asunder the fabric of its purported version as to how events unfolded. Oftentimes, Courts find that reckless overzealousness and unbridled fervour coupled with scant regard for due procedures and practices on the part of the police, in picking upon those whom they perceive to be the 6 1989 Supp (2) SCC 706