- SC quashed tribal man's life sentence after 9 years.
- Trial vitiated as witness testimony recorded in absence.
- Fresh trial ordered for Munna Mandavi, granted bail.
The Supreme Court recently quashed the life sentence of a tribal man from Chhattisgarh, convicted of murder, and ordered a fresh trial. The apex court ruled that recording prosecution witness testimony in the accused's absence constituted a breach of the rule of law.
The SC ordered the bail of Munna Mandavi, who spent nine long years in custody. A bench of justices, Satish Chandra Sharma and Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh, ordered a fresh trial, directing the trial court to examine all witnesses afresh in his presence.
The bench highlighted that the prosecution could overlook the fact that the presence of the accused is mandatory while recording evidence, specifying that the distance of the court was barely three kilometres from the district jail.
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“We are dealing with a case concerning a poor tribal who is not aware of the legal provisions and who, with great difficulty, engages a lawyer,” noted the court in its October 5 order, highlighting the circumstances in which the trial had proceeded without Mandavi being present to hear the evidence against him.
What’s the case?
The case stems from a witchcraft-related assault in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district, wherein Manadavi was allegedly accused of assaulting Sumari. Mandavi assumed that Sumaru was practising without and was responsible for his son’s death.
Somaru succumbed to his injuries, leading to Mandavi’s prosecution for murder under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and an offence under the Chhattisgarh Tonhi Pratadna Niwaran Adhiniyam, 2005 -- a law dealing with witchcraft-related harassment.
In November 2021, the trial court convicted Mandavi, relying, among other things, on the testimony of two prosecution witnesses who attributed the assault with an axe to him. The Chhattisgarh High Court upheld the conviction in January 2025, leaving him to serve a life sentence.
What happened during the October 5 Hearing
During the hearing, Mandavi’s counsel, Nirmal Chopra, argued that the proceedings stood nullified, highlighting that the evidence of prosecution witnesses had been recorded in his absence, contrary to Section 273 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). The provision says that evidence during a trial or other proceeding must be recorded in the presence of the accused or, where personal attendance has been dispensed with, in the presence of his lawyer.
Mandavi was in custody, and there was no question of his personal attendance having been administered, the court stated. “Meaning thereby, all evidence was required to be taken in the course of the trial in the presence of the accused. The same, however, has not been done. Therefore, the entire trial stands vitiated,” declared the bench.