Supreme Court overturns tribal man's murder conviction over procedural breach

In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court quashed the murder conviction of Munna Mandavi, a tribal resident of Chhattisgarh, after determining that the trial court recorded prosecution witnesses’ testimony without his presence, contravening Section 273 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The bench, comprising Justices Satish Chandra Sharma and Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh, held that the procedural lapse vitiated the entire proceeding, overturning the trial-court verdict and the Chhattisgarh High Court’s upholding of the life sentence.

Mandavi, who has spent nine years in custody, was ordered to be released on bail pending a fresh trial where all witnesses must be examined in his presence. The original case arose from a December 2017 assault in Sukma district that resulted in the death of Somaru, who was suspected of practicing black magic. The trial court had relied on two eyewitnesses who claimed Mandavi used an axe in the attack. The Supreme Court emphasized the prosecution’s duty to ensure the accused’s presence, especially given the nearby district jail, and directed a new trial in accordance with legal safeguards.