The Calcutta High Court clears two acid attack defendants, ruling that conviction cannot be founded solely on suspicion.

The Calcutta High Court recently acquitted two people who were found guilty by the trial court in an acid attack case [Jiten Barman v. The State of West Bengal] and stated that suspicion, no matter how strong, cannot substitute for proof of guilt.

The statement was delivered by a bench of Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Ajay Kumar Gupta as they overturned two men’s 2015 trial court convictions.

The High Court observed that although the trial court had relied on different witnesses’ testimonies, the majority of them had grown hostile.

This news is written by Ms. Amrita Singh, Research Assistant, All India Legal Forum.