The Supreme Court on Friday acquitted four men who had been convicted in a 35-year-old murder case arising out of alleged political rivalry, after finding major inconsistencies in the prosecution’s evidence.

A bench of Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Sandeep Mehta set aside their conviction, observing that the testimony of the two “so-called eyewitnesses” was riddled with contradictions and inherent improbabilities. The court also exercised its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to extend the benefit of acquittal to three co-accused who had not approached the Supreme Court.

The case dates back to September 1990, when an FIR was lodged in Indore alleging that ten persons were demolishing a temporary hutment. When the informant’s son tried to intervene, he was alle

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