Supreme Court Orders Release Of Man, His Brother Accused Of Wife's Murder

The top court said the alleged conspiracy theory to kill the wife only because she was not liked by her husband is far too improbable to accept since the prosecution failed to present any evidence.

There can be no uniform or universal reaction on witnessing a crime and inferences must not be drawn on assumption, said the Supreme Court which has directed release of a man and his brother in connection with the murder of his wife two decades ago. The top court said the alleged conspiracy theory to kill the wife only because she was not liked by her husband is far too improbable to accept since the prosecution failed to present any evidence to show the meeting of minds and common intention of all accused. A three-judge bench headed by Justice RF Nariman set aside an order of the Allahabad High Court which convicted Surendra Kumar (brother in law) for murder and Ranveer (husband) for criminal conspiracy in murder case of his wife Kamla Rani. The bench also comprising Justices B R Gavai and Hrishikesh Roy said Ramveer may not have been happy with his wife but this by itself does not establish that he hatched a conspiracy with his brother Surendra and his father Om Prakash (who died during trial), to kill Kamla Rani.