46
substantive evidence. Such evidence can only be used to
corroborate some items of substantive evidence which are
otherwise on record.”
34.
In Hukam Singh vs. State of Rajasthan21, the only circumstance
against the concerned accused pertained to his fingerprints on a mirror. That
circumstance by itself was not found to be sufficient by this Court to sustain
the finding of guilt under Section 302 IPC against the accused. It was
observed:“6. The last circumstance on which reliance was placed on
behalf of the prosecution was the presence of fingerprints
of the appellant on the mirror Ex. 1. We fail to see how this
circumstance can be regarded as necessarily implicating the
appellant in the commission of the murders. It was admitted
by Sujan Singh that the appellant was on visiting terms with
this family and it is, therefore, possible that during one of
his visits, the appellant might have touched the mirror Ex.
1 and left his fingerprints on it. It is also not altogether
unlikely that even when the appellant was in the hutment of
Sujan Singh for the purpose of committing the theft of
ornaments and other articles belonging to Sujan Singh after
the quadruple murders had been committed by some other
persons, he might have touched the mirror Ex. 1 and in the
process left his fingerprints upon it. The presence of the
fingerprints on the mirror Ex. 1 is not such a circumstance
as would necessarily lead to the inference that the appellant
must have committed the murders of these four members of
Sujan Singh’s family.
7. It is now settled law that in case of circumstantial
evidence, all the incriminating facts and circumstances
should be fully established by cogent and reliable evidence
and the facts so established must be consistent with the guilt
of the accused and should not be capable of being explained
away on any other reasonable hypothesis than that of his
guilt. In short, the circumstantial evidence should
unmistakably point to one and one conclusion only that the
accused person and none other perpetrated the alleged
21
(1977) 2 SCC 99
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