The Supreme Court has acquitted a man accused in the 2017 rape and murder of a school headmistress in Assam, citing lack of evidence and serious infirmities in the prosecution's case.
A bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta dismissed the Assam government's appeal and upheld the Gauhati High Court's decision to acquit Moinul Haque of charges of rape and murder.
The court also set aside his conviction under Section 201 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for allegedly destroying evidence, even though Haque had not challenged that part of the verdict.
The case related to the rape and murder of the 58-year-old headmistress in Assam's Hojai district, which triggered widespread outrage across the state.
The Supreme Court emphasized that criminal convictions must rest on unimpeachable evidence and not on suspicion, however strong.
